Midnight Kitchen Dances
by Twistytree
Summary: Coraline works in a bookshop in Forks, Washington and she slowly starts to know a certain blonde vampire. How will their relationship and feelings develop over time? -Esme doesn't exist in my universe-
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

The bookstore was never particularly busy. There would be the occasional rush of clients every now and then, maybe a particular book had been assigned at the school or for a research assignment. There were always the main customers, the ones who'd come in, lingering around the store before choosing a book or two and coming up to the register. That's where I came in. I had been working at the local bookstore for a year now. My uncle owned the place and it was good work that helped pay for the bills that graduating from college came with. It wasn't hard, a few shifts a week, shelving books and manning the register, it certainly wasn't the worse job in the world.

This particular day was just a normal one, the day dragging on as most Monday's would. I looked around the room; it was just the various books and myself in here. I figured that I could at least start shelving the new arrivals in the back and get the orders ready for pick up.

The boxes had been left haphazardly sorted around the back room, Julie had probably just delivered them in a rush. There weren't many new arrivals, only two boxes, each filled with the various orders that Joe had placed. I never understood his taste, there was no softness in his orders. Each box seemed to only yield to more folk stories and legends on the unknown or supernatural, all of which was vastly useful in a small town. What else could fill the day except for some light reading on cave monsters and big foot. It certainly wasn't my taste. I preferred the rather more adventurous pursuits, forgive me for sounding like a cliché, but I never wanted adventure in my own life but it was lovely to read about them.

The sound of the entrance bell made me look up from my place crouched over on the floor. A blond-haired man walked in, looking around by the register before his eyes landed on me. I stood, dusting my hands against the fabric of my skirt.

"Hello," I made my way back into the main room of the store. I couldn't help but be taken aback by his eyes. They were a startling gold, I had never seen something like that in my entire twenty-two years on the Earth. I shook my head, I couldn't be thinking like that, it was work after all. "How can I help you?"

The blonde man smiled, he had friendly yet sharp features. I had to admit that he was what pretty much everyone would call attractive. "I'm here to pick up an order, my son's order, actually"

"And the last name would be?" I asked, grabbing the list of orders.

"Cullen" he supplied. I ran my finger down the short list, finding it within seconds. I swear I had heard that name before.

"Edward Cullen? 'Creatures of the Dark Meeting Humans'?" I asked, repeating the order on the paper. He nodded. "Just give me a moment to find it" I said as I made my way back to the storage/ break room.

I looked through the box of orders, searching around for the name Cullen. There was nothing. I searched under the boxes and around but still nothing. I finally found it, kicked underneath the bookshelf innocently, like it didn't know that I would have to move the whole shelf to reach it. It was only during the shifts when I was alone did heavy things need to be moved, just my luck I suppose.

I let out a small groan, standing up and grabbing onto both sides of the book shelf. I pushed on it lightly, hoping that my small exertion was all it would take, unfortunately my hopes were dashed when the shelf remained in the same spot. I pushed harder this time, trying to get the large shelf to teeter a few inches forward, that's all I needed, a few inches to reach the book, maybe six-inches if I was being honest. I pushed harder and I felt the heavy object shift slightly, maybe a few centimeters and I planted my feet firmly on the ground, using my full strength.

"Is everything alright back there?" I heard a smooth voice ask.

"Everything's fine, I'll only be a second" I called back, hoping the strain wasn't evident in my voice. I pushed again and a few books fell to the floor, crashing down as I shook my head. Maybe, I should just move all the books off of the shelf before trying to push it. That would be the smart thing to do but it would take too long and I had a customer waiting. A few more books came crashing down clunking loudly down to the floor.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" The blonde man's head popped into the doorway. I was currently leaning against the heavy oak as he came further into the room, tilting his head slightly. "Perhaps I could help?"

"I'm almost there, it's fine, I'll be with you in just a second" I said, waving him back but he didn't move, a small sympathetic smile placed on his face.

"I really think I can help" I nodded, moving to one side of the shelf as he came closer, ready to help him. He placed his hands on the wood and he almost seemed amused as I moved to help him, mirroring his hand movements. He probably thought I was weak, which wasn't wrong but still.

When we picked it up, it felt like nothing. It barely weighed down in my hands at all. I knew he must have been carrying most of the weight but he didn't look like it. He wasn't straining himself at all, it almost looked easy. Perhaps he worked out, he didn't look out of shape.

"There we go" he said, setting the book shelf down without so much as a breath.

"Thank you" I said, smiling gratefully.

"It was no trouble, really" he said, his smooth voice flitting through the room like music.

"Even so, I appreciate it" I picked up the book from the floor, dusting it off with my sleeve before I held it out to the helpful man with the golden eyes. He took it slowly, looking at me all the while with those charming eyes of his. I really don't know why I'm so taken with him, I know nothing about him besides what he looked like. I couldn't be that shallow, could I? I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "I should get you checked out then" I said, making my way out into the main room as he followed behind me, placing the book on the counter.

"That'll be $9.95" He handed me a ten-dollar bill and I quickly rung him up, dropping the nickel into the palm of his hand. "I hope your son likes his book"

"He will, thank you" he gave me a close-lipped smile before leaving, his polite figure retreating from the book store.

The kind man had a knight-in-shining-armor type vibe he had going for him. I shook my head, I always had such different customers. I should get back to shelving some of the new books.

….

 **Hello! This is my first fic for the Twilight series, if you follow some of my other stories then I'm sorry for not updating. I just am very busy and I haven't updated myself on the latest episodes for most of them. Anyway, I hope you guys like this fic and tell me what you think in the comments!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC**

Chapter 2

I was what people would call a 'people person'. Maybe that was only because I talked so much. Whatever the case, I was never without something or another to say. That's why my uncle had hired me for the store, sometimes I'd spend hours talking to some of my customers, even taking tea with a few of them once our conversations had outlasted the period of daily chit-chat. My uncle said it made the store brighter, whatever that meant but I was glad that my endless chatter had landed me a job.

Sure, working at the bookstore wasn't my end goal but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I went to school to become a teacher, an elementary one at that. I loved working with kids, their brightness and innocence was refreshing, I could never fathom a better profession for myself. I had graduated college but I was still going through the training program at the local elementary school, working there half of the time and at the book store the other half.

I was currently squinting down at the workbook in my hand, flipping to another page with exasperation, the words were just so small and I refused to get my glasses prescription checked. The entrance bell rung and I looked up from my reading behind the register to glance at who it was.

"Hello, again" I said, placing the work book on the counter. It was the blonde-haired man from the day prior. I hadn't expected to see him back, at least not so soon anyway. He gave me a polite smile, one that most certainly sent all the girl's swooning. "What can I do for you today?"

"It's actually for my son, again, he's asked me to purchase a book called 'Mating Rituals for Creatures in the Dark'." I gave him a questioning look, almost afraid to ask about the reason behind his son's slightly strange reading habits. He looked down, smiling slightly but supplied no explanation.

I shook my head, clicking on a few of the computer keys, typing in the name of the book while the man stood, looking around the store before keeping his gaze on the counter.

"We actually have it" I said, looking up from the screen. "I'll just go grab it" I hopped off

the stool, my boot covered feet clunking to the ground as I walked down the aisle. It had only taken me a year, but I finally felt confident enough to traverse the deep seas that were the shelves. Joe never had a comprehensive sorting system, he sometimes had no apparent order to the madness that was shelving. Other co-workers and myself had tried tirelessly to organize the books according to some sort of system but found our efforts fruitless as Joe would return the store to its previous sorting system, if it could even be called a system. Eventually, all of us had surrendered to the disorganization, learning to work around it or just giving in and memorizing certain areas.

I wandered around the last isle of books, I swear that I had seen it somewhere around here. Pushing my glasses up onto the bridge of my nose, I crouched down on the floor, scanning my eyes over the spines. A thin green book caught my eye and I pulled it out, looking at the cover with triumph.

"I found it" I called out, bouncing to my feet. The man's eyes flickered over to where I stood, holding the book up. "Sorry about the wait" I said, going behind the register to ring the book up. He gave me a slight smile but said nothing, bringing out his brown wallet.

"That'll be $7.99, sir"

He handed me a $10 bill and I quickly opened the cash register, grabbing his change. I was so focused that I almost jumped when he spoke.

"It's Carlisle" My hands stopped moving and I looked up, giving him a confused look. "My name, I mean, it's Carlisle"

I looked at him, my hands still holding his change. I knew that name, or at least I had heard it before. Cullen, that's the last name that his son's order had been put under. So, it was Carlisle Cullen, I just couldn't place my finger on it. I shook my head, realizing that I had been staring at him without reply for just a tad bit too long.

"Sorry, I just swear I've heard that name somewhere"

"I can't imagine where"

I shrugged, dropping his change into the palm of his hand, holding his book in my other.

I held out 'Mating Rituals for Creatures in the Dark'. "I hope your son enjoys the book."

"I'm sure he will" As he said the words, my brain sparked up in recognition. I did know him, not personally but I knew of him.

"I've figured out who you are" I blurted out, a smile upon my face. He raised a sleek eyebrow, giving me a questioning look, prompting me to go on.

"You're the 'hauntingly handsome doctor' that had ensnared the minds of the entire staff at the hospital" I said, using air quotes around 'hauntingly handsome doctor'. It was words that I heard whenever I'd have coffee with my friend Dee. She, like the rest of the staff, were positively smitten with the man, I had heard stories that had centered purely around his jaw-line.

"Town gossip really does spread everywhere" he said, amusement lacing into his tone. I'm sure he had heard it all before.

"Well, you're quite the town celebrity, I hear that there's a whole herd of fangirls down at the hospital"

He shook his head, a smile planted on his lips. "The town is just reacting to a new face, that's all"

"That could be true, how long have you and your family been in Forks?"

"Three years"

I couldn't help but laugh, "I don't think three years qualifies you as a new face to the town anymore, Doctor Cullen"

"Perhaps not" he conceded, his bright eyes looking into my brown ones for a moment before I looked away.

"I suppose I shouldn't keep you long, Doctor Cullen"

"Please, it's Carlisle"

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you long, Carlisle" I repeated. He turned to leave, swinging the door open before turning back to me.

"I suppose it's not fair that you know my name but I don't know yours"

"I'll tell you next time" I said with such confidence that it almost shocked myself. He said nothing, a hint of a smile playing on his lips before walking out the door.

I couldn't deny that he was charming. He wasn't the pompous type that survived on his looks alone, at least not from what I could see. I had only met him twice, how good of a grasp on his character could I really have. I wasn't going to turn into a fan. I couldn't do that, I had more self-respect for myself than to pine after someone who I'd only just met. No, it was decided, I would never develop romantic feelings for the good doctor.

….

 **Hey, I finished two chapters in one day! Anyway, tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC**

…

I was absolutely and utterly exhausted. The last week had been like swimming in a pool of lava but the lava was replaced with lesson planning. It was truly tiring work, and being an teacher in training meant having to constantly adjust to your mentor's own teaching style rather than just your own. I swear that I had submitted over a dozen potential outlines before Kathy finally relented and approved it. I've lost so much sleep over the past week, my face started showing the drain through the annoying bags under my eyes.

Pushing up my glasses, I sighed, looking around the store. It was a slow day, well, what else could I expect from at four in the afternoon on a Tuesday. It worked out better for me anyway, as long as I finished everything up and shelved new books and organized the order list then Joe was fine with me working on other things.

Yawning, I looked back down at the workbook, putting a sticky note next to one of the sections. Who knew that explaining elementary level math concepts could be so complicated. I scribbled on the square of paper, underlining the area which I needed to focus on. The sound of the entrance bell drew my attention, I could never hear the sound without looking. Maybe I just never focused enough.

Golden eyes locked onto mine and I found myself sitting up straighter, giving him a polite smile. "Another book for your son?" I asked, closing the third-grade math textbook.

He shook his head, "Actually, my daughter this time"

My eyes lit up with curiosity, how many children could a man his age have and I asked him just that. "How many kids do you have?"

"Five, they're all in high school" I could feel my jaw hit the floor by his answer, the man couldn't look a day over thirty and even that was pushing it.

"You must be absolutely ancient" I said without thinking. He chuckled, almost to himself, as if sharing in a joke with himself. I quickly moved to apologize. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, it's just-" I paused. How could I explain myself without being rude? Luckily, he saved me from having to do so.

"They're adopted, not biologically mine but they're still my children"

I nodded, I could understand that. "Still, five children, teenagers no less, it takes a lot"

He smiled, still looking like he was telling an inside joke. "They're very mature for their age." I still had to give him credit, not many people could manage such a big household by themselves. I suddenly chided myself for the thought, all of this time I assumed he was unattached. Of course, someone like him, especially with the large family wasn't by himself, he had a partner or something along that line.

"I hardly get along with managing a dozen or so elementary students, everyone knows teens are harder" I added, still somewhat dwelling on the idea of him having a partner. I shouldn't bother me, he seemed like a happy person and I should wish everyone well in their lives. Perhaps this was a good thing, I had sworn never to like him anyway and him having a wife or husband, whichever one, would certainly do well to deter my mind.

His melodic voice broke through my swirling thoughts. "You're a teacher?"

My mind suddenly perked up as I nodded, holding up the textbook in my hand. "Either that or I have an unhealthy obsession with third grade math" I joked, laughing with a smile before continuing. "I'm not actually a full-time teacher, not yet anyway, I'm still going through the training, but I'm hoping to get a full-time position by the end of the school year, that's when my training will be over anyway and I'll know if they're going to actually hire me or not" I was terrified of them not hiring me.

As if sensing my nerves, he spoke up. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful teacher"

I smiled at him, trying to show that I was grateful for the sentiment before shaking my head, getting back to business. "What was the book your daughter wanted?"

"I'm not actually entirely sure, she sent me here with the order to just buy her a book relating to fairies"

"Oh, the winged ones?"

He laughed, the sound bouncing through the shop, "I would very much assume so"

"Well, it's just your luck then, because we have a whole section on fairies," I hopped off the stool. "Let me show you" I said. He followed behind me as I lead him into the shelves. I turned left, taking him into the aisle over before I stopped near the end. "Here we are" I said gesturing to the eye-level section of purely fairy related books.

"Thank you" he said, his kind eyes looking at me. I knew that I'd blush if he stared any longer and I looked away from him, finding a section of the shelf next to his head to focus on, putting my hands in my pocket. "I'll leave you to it then" I said, giving him a nod before making my way back to the front.

As I sat back down on my stool, reopening the math textbook, I couldn't help but glance over in his direction. He seemed to be reading over the various titles. I pushed my glasses up, shaking my head. There was just something about him that made him so magnetizing. Whatever my strange attraction to the man was, I needed to get over it. He's probably married, I reminded myself. That helped, to think about him being married with a family. After all, I couldn't well live with myself if I was pining over a married man, that was just wrong. I spend much too much time contemplating about this man.

Perhaps it would be better if I disliked him, at least that way I could get out of this school girl type crush that I had developed. Yes, disliking him certainly would help but what was there to dislike. His kind words? Maybe that he adopted children? Perhaps, the fact that he's a doctor, out there saving lives and all that jazz. No, I couldn't dislike him based on any of the information I had on him so far. Perhaps, he secretly kicked puppies in his spare time, now that was something that I could dislike him for. Yes, so all I'd have to do is hope that he was a closeted puppy kicker, great. I rolled my eyes at my ridiculousness. It would be much easier to just imagine that he kicked puppies instead of actually hoping that he did.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a pair of golden eyes, they had come out of nowhere. I thought I would have at least heard him walk to the front, maybe I was just focused on my thoughts.

"Found everything then?" I asked, my eyes glancing over the three books he held.

"Well, I do hope so" he looked unsure.

"I'm sure your daughter will enjoy them" I said politely while ringing his order up. I could still be polite, I just had to keep reminding myself that he figuratively kicked puppies. That would keep me from liking him. "It'll be $32.58" He handed me cash and I made quick work of getting his change.

"You never did tell me your name" he said unexpectedly and I looked up, the surprise showing on my face. I hadn't expected him to remember that, I had almost forgotten.

"Oh, it's Coraline, Coraline Parsons" I said, slightly thrown off guard as I handed him his change, dropping it into his palm.

"Coraline" he repeated. My name on his lips made me want to hear it again and I chided myself. "It's a beautiful name"

"Thank you" I said, feeling a fait blush light up my cheeks, I hoped he wouldn't notice.

"I'll see you around, Coraline" he said, smiling as he left the store, books in hand.

I stood there a few moments longer, unmoving before I let out a sigh. No, Doctor Cullen was defiantly not a man who kicked puppies.

… **..**

 **Hello! I wrote another chapter! This fanfiction is honestly an excuse for myself to procrastinate on actual work for college haha. Let me know what you think of the story so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC**

* * *

As much as I loved working when no customers were there, it was always interesting when the shop was buzzing with life or rather buzzing with individuals, each secluded in their own space within the store. Those days were few and far between on weekdays but on days like this, or rather on the Saturday's, the store seemed brighter, even if the weather didn't reflect that.

I worked the afternoon shift on Saturday's along with my co-worker, Ben. He was a sweet boy. Ben was one of my younger co-workers, being only 17 and in his last year of high school. He was quiet at first but over the course of our many shifts together he had really opened up and we bonded over burning ourselves trying to boil water for tea.

While I was checking customer's out, Ben stood next to me, using the computer to put in Joe's order for new books; he was far more adept at using the ordering system than I was. As I began ringing up the next customer, the bell drew my attention, my eyes glancing at the entrance. I really wasn't expecting for Carlisle Cullen to walk through the door. My eyes followed him for a moment as he made his way to the shelves before I turned back to my customer.

"Have a wonderful day" I said, waving goodbye to the customer. There was no one else in line and my eyes wandered over to the rest of the store, scanning around the room until I saw the blonde head of Doctor Cullen. He was standing by the display of new arrivals, flipping through the pages of a book.

"Ben, do kids with the last name 'Cullen' go to your high school?" I asked, leaning in slightly to keep my voice hushed.

He nodded, "They're all in my graduating class"

"What are they like?"

Ben shrugged, turning from the computer screen. "They mostly keep to themselves, a few of them are in my history class, they're really smart" he whispered back. "Why the sudden interest in high schoolers?"

I shrugged, my eyes flicking over to where the doctor was still standing across the room. "I was just curious" He hummed, nodding as he went back to placing the orders.

I took one more look at Dr. Cullen before shaking my head. If I couldn't pretend that he was a bad person, then I could just avoid being around him. I'll let Ben handle the customer interactions for a while and I had books to sort in the back room.

The boxes were piled on the table in the middle of the room. I started on unwrapping everything, using a pair of scissors to cut open the tape. Organizing and labeling all of the books with different prices and names. I poured myself a cup of hot water, taking a tea bag from the box and submerging it into the cup. It was going to be a long hour or so of labeling, I needed tea for this.

I finished up an hour or so later, my cup empty and the books all properly labeled and priced in a stack next to me. They needed to be shelved and I grabbed the rolling cart to hold all of the books. When I went out, Ben was still behind the register, looking at the list of orders while chewing on the back of a pencil.

"Here" I said, taking a stack of books and putting it on the counter in front of him. "It's the orders from online" I explained before wheeling my cart off into the shelves. It seemed like much of the traffic from earlier had died down.

I grabbed a few of the books from the shelf, taking them down as I replaced them with the new one's that I had just labeled. Rolling the cart into the next aisle, I stopped as I stumbled upon a familiar face who had already turned at the sound of the squeaky metal cart. I thought he would have left by now.

"Dr. Cullen, if I could just squeeze past you here" I said, moving my cart slightly forward to indicate my need to get through the aisle. I kept my eyes on the cart.

"Go right ahead" He stepped out to the side, allowing me access to the other side. I smiled politely moving along to shelve the new books, trying to block out the presence of the man standing next to me innocently turning the pages in his book.

I looked in front of me, staring pointedly at the books in front of me. I wouldn't look at him, I wouldn't. I absolutely wouldn't. I grabbed the books off the cart, switching them out with some of the older books that had been on the shelves for a while. I almost congratulated myself for not looking when I saw Dr. Cullen walking up to me in my peripheral vision. I felt myself freeze and then without thinking I grabbed the handles of the cart, gripping it tightly before speeding off down the aisle and into the next one.

What was wrong with me. I hoped that I hadn't been too obvious that I was trying to avoid him. After all, he couldn't figure that out from me running away, right. At least I hoped not. Sighing, I went back to shelving books, my hands moving automatically. When I finished, I pushed the cart toward the front, the wheels squeaking with each move.

"Coraline" A melodic voice called out from behind me. I stopped, not turning around. Avoidance wasn't wrong. Avoidance is natural, fight or flight, those are natural human instincts. At least, that's what I told myself as I continued walking towards the back room without turning as if I hadn't heard my name.

Why was I like this? I wished someone would tell me. I'm not a shy person, I'm actually quite a good people person but what I just did probably wasn't the best example of that. Maybe, I really wasn't a people person or perhaps I was just too much of a Doctor Cullen person.

I made my way quickly into the back room, closing the door behind me. I could live here forever. I would just stay in here and pretend that I hadn't just obviously embarrassed myself and was extremely rude to Dr. Cullen who had been nothing but kind to me. I just needed to not have good feelings toward him because then I would develop a crush on him which would lead to feelings which would lead to me being heartbroken because of the reality that he was probably married, not to mention that he probably had a ton of better qualified people just throwing themselves at him. Avoidance was better.

As I leaned against the door, I could hear the conversation on the other side. Ben was checking the good doctor out, giving him his change for his purchase. At the sound of the exit bell, I peeked my head out.

"He's gone" I opened the door the rest of the way, sliding my way back into the main store area. "You have no subtlety" said Ben, swiveling the stool.

I groaned, "How much did you see?"

"The part where you ran away or the part when he called your name, you stopped, and then you ran away?" Leaning against the wall, I put my face into my hands.

"Do you think he noticed?" I asked, peeking out between my fingers.

"You graduated college, right?"

I shot him a look, putting my hands down. "I know, I know, I didn't handle that the best way"

He nodded in agreement. "You really didn't"

"How do I fix this?"

"You could apologize like a normal person or you could just continue avoiding him until the whole situation blows over"

"Right," I said, putting my hands on my hips as I stopped leaning against the door. I considered his words. "I'm going to choose the avoidance option, that sounds much better"

Ben looked at me incredulously. "That's not the poi-"

"No, no, I really think you were onto something with the avoidance thing" I said, nodding. "Thank you, Ben, I really do appreciate the advice" I continued nodding, opening the door to the back room again, heading inside.

"That's not what I meant" he yelled to me.

I didn't care. I yelled back with pep in my voice, "I know!"

* * *

 **Hello! I made another chapter. I'm so tired and sleep deprived but I really like writing this story. Let me know what you think of the latest chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

* * *

I really don't think that I'm a bad person. I would never maliciously hurt someone or go out of my way to take revenge so I wasn't particularly proud of how I was acting. It had been three weeks and Doctor Cullen had come into the store two more times, at least when I was on a shift. Both times, he had come in was on a Saturday when I was working a shift with Ben and I had immediately retreated into the back room. I wasn't proud of myself. Certainly, hiding in a small back room was never my proudest moment but I had done it. I had avoided Doctor Cullen's golden eyes for three weeks. Ben did not support me in my endeavors but he didn't stop me either. He'd just roll his eyes as he saw me slowly head for the back room and shake his head as I cautiously peeked out to check if the doctor was gone. I was almost relieved when the next Saturday, Doctor Cullen never showed. Then, the next week, again, he didn't show.

I sighed, tucking my pencil behind my ear as I scanned over the new arrival list, checking the accuracy of Ben's latest order. I put the paper down. Perhaps, I was wrong to keep dodging him. I was blowing everything way out of proportion anyway. It didn't matter, he probably didn't even notice. Well, he may have noticed the first or second time but I'm sure he had forgotten about it quite easily. I think it was time to just set aside my avoidance plan. Maybe I should just apologize or at least stop avoiding him.

Looking out the glass window, I saw a silver car pull up into the parking lot, parking quickly before a familiar man walked out. I wasn't prepared to see him so soon. Panicking, I ducked down behind the desk, hoping he didn't see me as I cornered myself further behind the register next to the bottom of my stool. I heard the entrance bell ring, signaling that he had entered the store and pulled my legs up under my chin. This was not good, not at all. I couldn't exactly just pop up now and act like crouching behind the counter was normal. Perhaps I could just act like I had dropped something but then I had already been down here for too long. I was stuck.

"Excuse me" He must be standing next to the register, although I was sure that he couldn't see me. He must just be asking for help. Ben walked out from the back room, his eyes going to Doctor Cullen before looking down towards the register, seeing me scrunched up in a ball under the counter. Ben's eyes widened and I gave him a small wave before putting a finger over my lips, telling him to keep quiet.

"How can I help you, sir?" Ben asked stiffly, stepping behind the counter. Well, now it was much too late for me to come out. Now it would just be weird. Not that it wasn't already weird with me hiding on the ground. I just had to sit here for a little while longer.

"I'm here to pick up an order, it's under Cullen" I could see Ben nodding, he was probably looking over the order list.

"Let me just check the back for the order" Ben gave me a look as he walked back into the back room. This would be fine. Ben would come back from the back with the book and then just ring Doctor Cullen up and then he would leave and I could come out. Ben just needed to come back with the book. I just needed to wait it out. A few minutes later, Ben came back out. "You know, I couldn't find it in the back, it must be under here somewhere" I could have just died right there.

Ben crouched down, "Hurry up" I whispered.

"Why are you even down here?"

"I panicked, can you just hurry and get the book?" He reached into the drawer, looking through the other orders before sighing.

"There's no book, I can't find it"

"What do you mean you can't find it" I whisper yelled at him. My god this was a real low point in my life. Ben stood up before I could say anything else. I just wanted this entire situation to be over.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Cullen, I can't find it, maybe the delivery got delayed, if you could check back a few days from now" offered Ben, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I will, thank you for your help" Finally, the doctor would leave. I heard him take a step towards the door before stopping. "I'll make sure to come on a different day next time, I wouldn't want Coraline to have to hide, again" I could practically feel my heart exploding from embarrassment as I put my face on my knees. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and become transparent.

Ben said nothing, and I heard the door close with the ring of the bell. I stood up and I could feel something lumpy as I stood. I was sitting on a book, Doctor Cullen's book at that. That's why Ben couldn't find it, I must have knocked it over in my rush to hide. I held it in my arms as I stood up, giving Ben a guilty look. He looked at me shaking his head, this is what he had been warning me about for the last month, that I couldn't avoid Doctor Cullen forever and that it would blow up in my face. I felt too guilty to even begin to hate Ben for being right. Why was I even avoiding Doctor Cullen in the first place, I was just trying to prevent something that hasn't even happened.

With a rush guilt, I gripped the book tightly, pushing past Ben and outside. The cold hit me immediately.

"Doctor Cullen" He was only just getting into his car. I saw him stop and look at me with something akin to surprise. I guess he hadn't expected me to come out from hiding. I made my way down the three steps, looking straight at him. I got an arm's length away before I stopped walking and held out the book. "It was under the counter"

"So, that's why you were crouched under the register" his golden eyes met mine and I felt relieved at the bit of amusement I detected in his tone.

"I'm really really sorry, I just…" I didn't know what my explanation was. "I just really…I just," I was scrambling for words. I took a breath, composing myself. "You're a very nice person and I was just being childish"

"I must admit that I was very confused at your sudden disappearances, I almost thought I had offended you in some way" he admitted.

I was quick to assure him that it wasn't something he did. "It wasn't you and I promise not to act so rudely in the future" His eyes felt like they were staring straight into my soul and I couldn't help but look at him nervously as I wrapped my arms around my body; it was freezing out here.

"No more hiding?" He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly, his golden eyes sparkling with amusement.

I nodded, smiling. "No more hiding" I agreed. We looked at each other for a moment before I broke eye contact, looking down at the ground. "I should let you get home, then" I said, my breath coming out visible in the cold air. I could practically feel my teeth chattering.

He seemed surprised, almost as if he had forgotten about the cold in the air. "Right, it was nice to see you, Coraline." I smiled, looking up at him.

"I'll see you around, Doctor Cullen" I said, looking at him for a moment longer before turning, walking back to the stairs. Before I went back in, I turned back, Doctor Cullen had only just opened his door. I gave him a small wave which he reciprocated before getting fully into his car and I slid back into the book store.

As I came back into the book store, I was shaking slightly from the cold outside. I hadn't fully realized how cold it had been outside.

"Is everything okay now?"

I nodded, making my way to the back to grab my coat. I felt better after talking to Doctor Cullen. Maybe avoiding him hadn't been the best plan in the world. Probably, not even in the top 10 best plans I've ever had. I feel like this was the start of something better. Something a little less weird.

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 **I finished the fifth chapter! Also, I literally live on comments and feel more motivated when I get them so pleaseee let me know what you think**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC**

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Things got better after I had talked to Doctor Cullen. I stopped avoiding him, much to Ben's relief and we had developed a type of acquaintanceship in the few weeks that passed. In the weeks that passed, through our limited interactions throughout the store, I had learned that he had five children. There were the twins, Jasper and Rosalie and then there were, Alice, Edward, and Emmet. Doctor Cullen would tell me small anecdotes about them from time to time when it related to something in our discussion. Edward and Alice had been the one's he had been placing orders, although more recently it had been Alice requesting all sorts of books. Doctor Cullen usually came in around once or twice a week now, usually he would come straight to me, asking where a particular section was, I was almost surprised he hadn't memorized the, albeit, complicated sorting system himself considering how often he was here. The store was only so big after all. I found myself growing content with his company, even if it was only for a little while. I had completely forgotten my original reason for ever trying to avoid him.

I wouldn't call our relationship a friendship, just because we never really saw each other outside of the book store and I didn't know too much about him other than about his children and even then, my knowledge was limited. He hardly knew anything about myself either, I mostly just told him about a new lesson plan that I was working on or about how my training was going. Nothing that personal but I always enjoyed our talks. He would respond with questions, nudging me into continuing until I finished a fifteen or so minute story about my experience with my students and I honestly enjoyed every minute of talking to the man.

I had actually just left Doctor Cullen in the very small non-fiction section of the book store. He was searching for a particular book on trees and flowers for his daughter Alice, who had apparently sworn up and down that this was the only store that sold such a book. I found it endearing that he would always accommodate his children's wishes. It was quite sweet.

Shaking my head with a smile, I turned back to the paper in front of me, Kathy had sent me home with a list of parent phone numbers and names as well as medical information to compile into a spreadsheet for the upcoming field trip. She had arranged for the kids to go on a tour of the police station then the fire department, and finally the hospital. All the kids were quite excited to get to ride around in a fire truck and were practically buzzing excitement for Friday. I flipped through the binder Kathy had prepared, I had to admit that as much of a hard person she was to work with, she certainly made up for it with her incredible organization skills.

Flipping to the itinerary section, I looked at the names of all of our guides. Chief of police, Charlie Swan would be showing us around the police station, Winston Miller would be giving the kids the tour of the fire department, and nurse, Sandra Copley would be our tour guide for the hospital.

"What's all of that?" I almost jumped at the voice. The good doctor was wonderful at sneaking up on me, sometimes I thought that he floated an inch above the ground instead of walking.

"Oh, it's nothing, just field trip plans" I said, closing the folder. "What've you picked out today?" I asked, taking the books from his hands. "'Trees in North America' and 'Flowers of North America', both riveting choices."

"They were the only two that sounded the least bit normal"

I laughed, nodding. "We have a very different selection at our bookstore, it's all fairytale, fantasy creatures, and a bunch of folk legends."

He tilted his head slightly, "Do you believe in any of those?"

"You mean like bigfoot?" I asked, jokingly.

"Never mind" he said, shaking his head, his lips forming into an amused grin. "Where's the field trip to?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, that" I had almost forgotten that I mentioned that. "We're taking the kids to visit the police station, fire department, and hospital, it'll be my second field trip with them, last time we actually went up to Seattle and went to an art museum, it didn't work out well"

"What happened?"

I leaned forward on the counter. "Well, we brought a bunch of seven and eight-year-olds to an art museum so…"

"They were bored out of their minds?"

"Yes, unbelievably so" I laughed, ringing up his purchase. "Most of them were just restless and antsy and probably would have preferred just going to a park and running around so for this field trip Kathy thought we'd take the kids through the stages of an emergency, I think it'll keep them much more entertained."

"I'm sure it will," I smiled at him. I couldn't actually believe that a few weeks ago, I had been so adamant never to see him again, I must have been insane. He shook his head, breaking eye contact as I rung him up.

"That'll be $16.79" He handed me the money and I quickly returned his change.

"I hope the field trip goes well" he said sincerely.

I just smiled, "Thank you, I hope you have a good rest of your day"

He smiled back, looking at me with those golden eyes of his before walking out the front door, books in hand.

* * *

I could hardly catch my breath as the kids whirled and jumped around me; it was field trip day which meant that everyone was bursting and bounding with energy. I was glad that I had chosen to wear my just above knee-length skirt today, with wool tights of course, it would be easier to run and catch someone with more movement that a skirt allowed, plus it was easy to wash stains out of.

"Everyone file nicely into the bus" I reminded. Being a teacher had it's trying days and today was going to one of them. I had only been on one field trip with them before this and it had gone just about as well as I thought it would, which was horribly. Even Kathy had seemed frustrated that day. I had higher hopes for this field trip.

I did a head count in the bus, checking that all fifteen kids were all on board before we left the school parking lot. It would be extremely bad if we started this trip off with forgetting a kid.

"Everyone on-board?" Kathy asked, coming onto the bus.

Kathy was a seasoned teacher, having been teaching for thirty plus years. She was short in stature and didn't look intimidating head on but she more than made up for it with her snarky attitude and sharp wit. In all honesty, she scared me. Yes, a little old Asian woman scared me, don't judge me. During my interview to be her teaching assistant, she upfront told me that she thought I'd fail within the first week, but for some reason she still hired me. After I lasted the first month with her, she started easing up on what I suspected was hazing. She was a good mentor, and a very thorough one at that. If one of my lesson plans wasn't perfect than she would have me re-do the entire thing instead of just fixing the problematic section. That taught me real fast to just read over all of my work several times before I considered it decent and then from there I'd re-read it another half a dozen times before submitting it for review. Come to think of it, I think that's my main reason for being sleep deprived most of the time. Although don't get me wrong, Kathy is a really nice person deep down. It took me a month longer to squeeze out any personal information from her and even longer for her to hold a full conversation with me that wasn't about work. Even now, she was still was closed off but I didn't mind. I'd crack her eventually.

The short ride to the sheriff station was mostly filled with talking children, mumbling to one another, while Kathy looked over the itinerary in the seat next to me and I spent my time, pulling my hair into a bun. I didn't want my hair blowing all over the place and it was easier to manage if it was just out of the way.

When we stopped, we were greeted by the face of Charlie Swan, the town sheriff. I didn't know him too well, at least not anymore. He had been friends with my parents when they had still lived in Forks before I was born and I remember seeing him when I'd spend my summers here with my grandma. Now, I knew more about him from word of mouth. I actually heard that his daughter had just moved back to town a couple years ago, I think her name was Isabelle or was it Isabella, something along those lines. I was never great with names.

"Kathy, it's great to see you" he said, going to hug the short woman before stopping as she gave him a glare that meant 'touch me and you die'. He backed up, holding his hands up in surrender before he turned to me. "And look at you Coraline, you're all grown up, how are the parents? Still enjoying Colorado?"

I nodded, laughing. "They're doing well actually, still hiking mountains and all that, well, mom is hiking mountains, dad says that he's allergic to any form of exercise"

"Sounds like your father," he said letting out a slight laugh before shaking his head, looking down at me. "By the way, I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother, she was a real nice lady"

I nodded, looking down at the ground. "Thank you," I could feel myself getting emotional, now wasn't the time for that. I shook my head, smiling instead. "Why don't we get those kids off the bus, I bet they're just itching to get a look inside" I suggested with a smile, shaking off any remaining sadness and focusing on getting the kids off the bus.

I did another headcount before we went in, making sure everyone from the bus had gotten off before we headed inside. Once we were all ready, I carried my clipboard inside while Kathy held onto her color-coded binder as she stayed in the front of the group and I stayed in the back, making sure none of the kids fell behind.

The tour went rather well. The kids all stayed calm without losing attention and they weren't too loud or repetitive. He told them about what he did on a day to day basis and about some of the previous cases he dealt with, leaving out any of the truly gory details. I felt that it had all gone rather well for our first stop. We ended just on time and I could tell that Kathy was pleased at the accuracy of her plan.

The next stop was the fire station. The kids just went absolutely nuts there. Maybe it was because the drive was a bit farther, but whatever the case was, all fifteen of them just immediately started running in every direction. I wanted to pull my hair out, I didn't know which one to try and catch first. Kathy didn't seem at all concerned, looking at me expectantly as the kids went mad around us, running around the fire station lot like they had each been given an infusion of coffee. I had to be smart about catching the little bugs. I decided to be smart about it and had managed to catch their leader to which many of the others followed in suit and gathered around. Children were much like aliens, take out the leader and you take out them all. Of course, that metaphor when applied to children doesn't have the connotation that I'd kill the child. No, that would defiantly be wrong.

I managed to eventually gather all of them into one area before we entered the fire station. The kids were amazed at the different areas of the station, listening intently to our nice guide who had created a lot of interactive activities to try, even letting each child look around the fire truck and sit in the front seat. The kids were having so much fun at the fire station that Kathy and I had to practically pry them away from the bright red trucks and back onto the bus. I even heard a few of the boys and girls saying that they wanted to be a firefighter when they grew up. It was quite cute.

We stopped by a park for a lunch break. The air was still chilly with the remnants of winter hanging around but in Forks it was hardly ever not at least a little cold. All the kids barreled out of the bus with their jackets tightly wrapped around them and their lunches clutched in their small hands. Kathy and I had warned parents to give their children mats or towels for them to sit on and most of the children had their mats tucked under their arms as they looked for the perfect spot in the small park. We told them not to go anywhere outside of the park and Kathy and I kept a close gaze on them as they found their spots on the dewy grass.

The bus driver had opted to stay inside the warm bus while Kathy and I stayed out to watch the children. We had sat on the high side of the park with the slight hill to be able to see all of the kids without a blind spot. We both didn't eat, too preoccupied with watching the kids as they ate their packed lunches while eyeing the playground across the street. After they all finished their lunches, we walked them across the street to the playground, figuring that it would be better for them to get out any excess energy they had before going into a hospital. I don't think the patients, nurses, or doctors would particularly appreciate a bunch of wired seven to eight year olds running wild down the halls.

Lunch hour ran around ten minutes over time and I could tell that Kathy was ready to leave. I ushered the kids into the bus, telling them that we only had one more stop and it was at the hospital where we'd get a tour of all the different rooms that people didn't normally get to see. I was happy that most of the kids complied easily, most of their rambunctious energy having already been used up on the playground.

Once we arrived at the hospital, Kathy went in ahead of me to get our tour guide while I stayed with the kids in the main lobby. They were all behaving well, just standing around talking to one another while I did a silent head check, crossing off their names on my clipboard.

"Coraline" I was writing down a note when a voice came from behind me, making me jump before I turned, looking wide eyed at the blonde doctor in front of me.

"Oh, Doctor Cullen" I said, looking around at the children who had all turned to look at the Doctor. "This is my third-grade class," I gestured around me and some of the children waved. "And children, this is Doctor Cullen" I introduced.

He gave them a smile, "It's nice to meet all of you" Doctor Cullen opened his mouth as if to say more but he was interrupted as Kathy and our apparent guide rounded the corner.

"You must be Ms. Parsons, I'm Nurse Sandra but you can just call me Sandy" The woman said, directed at both me and towards the kids. The nurse with short dirty blonde hair extended her hand with a warm smile which I took, shaking her hand politely. "I see you've also met Doctor Cullen"

"We've actually met before" I started but before I could say anything, the good doctor jumped in unexpectedly.

"Yes, we're friends" My eyes snapped to him. What? I thought the term friends was pushing it just a bit but perhaps it was easier than explaining that I was the random woman he knew from the weird bookshop in town. Yes, that had to be it.

"Well, why don't we start that tour of ours?" said the peppy nurse to the kids who gave her wide smiles. "Doctor Cullen, are you going to join us?"

I expected him to say no. "I think I'll follow along for a bit"

All of us set out in our group and to my surprise Dr. Cullen also followed next to me as the kids rushed around us to get towards the front. Kathy quirked her eyebrow at me before making her way towards the front of the group next to Nurse Sandy while I remained in my normal position at the back to look out for strays. After ushering all of the kids in front of me, I glanced at the doctor from my side eye, he had kept a steady pace next to me this entire time.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here today" I admitted, my voice hushed into a lower tone. He gave me an amused look and I explained further. "I know that you work at the hospital, it just never occurred to me that I'd see you here, it's odd seeing you outside of the bookstore" I admitted. It really was odd. I had never really pictured him outside of the category that I knew him in which was the cardigan wearing man with kind eyes that came into the store to buy books for his children.

"I don't know why it would be odd for you, you still call me 'Dr. Cullen' regardless of our location" he teased.

"It's what you're called" We were currently walking down a wide hallway, the children a few feet in front of us.

"I've told you to call me Carlisle more times than I can count"

"Well, then I don't know how you became a doctor not being able to count to three because that's how many times you've told me" I said, giving him a sly smile.

He quirked an eye brow, turning to look at me as we continued walking. "So, you have heard me say it, you just purposefully never use my first name"

"Would you rather me call you 'Doctor Carlisle Cullen'? And for the record, I have used your first name" I defended.

"One time and only after I had prompted you" he reminded me. "I'm not very well versed in this subject but don't friends use each other's first names?" he asked, seeming to be rhetorical but my mind stopped, my face scrunching in confusion as we continued walking.

I could hear the Nurse talking, explaining one of the areas of the hospital to the children but I was focused on what the Doctor had just said.

"Do you consider us friends?" I asked, looking at him from the side.

He quirked his head, looking down at me. "You don't?"

Well, this put me in an awkward position. I answered honestly, figuring it was best to be clear. "We're acquaintances, yes but friends? I'm not so sure"

The doctor's face turned down in a frown. I almost felt bad, maybe I should have just lied. He stayed quiet for a moment and we walked in silence. I eventually turned back towards what the nurse was talking about, ignoring the feelings of guilt that were welling up inside me.

I didn't know what to say. I was glad when Doctor Cullen decided to speak, "Why aren't we friends?"

"I know very little about you, you know little about me, and we only see each other under the context of the bookstore"

He looked thoughtful, "Well, we're seeing each other now in this context," he said gesturing to the hospital. "And this isn't the bookstore."

I nodded, "That's true but I still don't know very much about you, I don't even know what your favorite color is."

He looked down at me with an expression that was akin to amusement. "I hardly think that knowing my favorite color matters"

I shook my head, "That's just the thing, friends know the little things and I don't even know the big things about your life besides your occupation and a bit about your various children"

The Doctor nodded, seeming to consider my words for a moment before speaking again. "My favorite color is blue, what's yours?"

I laughed slightly, shaking my head. "Purple, although only light lilac purple"

"What other type of information do you need?"

"It's not an interrogation" I said, laughing slightly, shaking my head. It was only then that I realized that we had fallen behind slightly and I rushed forward to catch up, the doctor's long legs matching my pace easily.

We made our way into a much smaller room where CT scans were taken so the Doctor and I couldn't talk without being heard anymore. I stayed silent, listening to what the Nurse was saying but taking glances at the man next to me every few minutes. Our conversation about friendship had apparently dropped as we got out of the smaller room.

We continued walking in a comfortable silence as we came along to another hallway. Occasionally, the Nurse would direct a question towards Dr. Cullen and he would answer politely, smiling at the children who just stared at him with wonder. They enjoyed talking to him, asking him questions about what kind of patients he saw on a daily basis and if they were all "gory and cool" as one of my students put it. He answered their questions with enthusiasm, and the kids really seemed to like him.

Come to think of it, everyone around here seemed to like him. I had seen more than one nurse and doctor check him out as we were walking by. Anyone else we encountered also seemed to have a friendly disposition towards the blonde doctor. It's almost as if everyone was just attracted to his kindness, maybe he just exuded it.

The tour ended back in the main lobby and Kathy was just finishing up with the nurse while I escorted the children back onto the bus. They all thanked the nurse, each of them clutching a lollipop that she had given them.

"It was nice meeting you" I said kindly, shaking the taller woman's hand before I took the children outside. Doctor Cullen followed next to me, a small smile on his face as he watched me talk to the kids.

The kids filed single file into the bus and I did a head count as they entered before turning to the doctor. I hadn't expected him to accompany us on any part of the tour, let alone the entire time we had been there. It was defiantly different seeing him here but not a bad different. It was nice. My mind wondered back to our conversation in the hallway.

I was always like this. It took so long for me to consider anyone a friend. Maybe that's why I had so few of them. I got along with almost everyone but that doesn't mean they were my friends. Even Ben, who I had known for almost a year didn't fully fit into that category, he went into my category of 'work colleague'. I still couldn't help but feel like things were different with Doctor Cullen though. We didn't know each other very long and I really didn't know a ton about him but I felt close to him, if that made any sense. I couldn't explain it if I tried.

"The children really liked you" I said, smiling up at him.

"They were lovely, and see you were worried about the trip being a disaster"

"Well, thank you for helping to end the field trip on a good note"

He opened his mouth to reply as Kathy came out of the building, pulling on her coat. She turned to Doctor Cullen. "It was nice meeting you Doctor Cullen"

"And you as well" he said kindly, looking down at the shorter woman. Kathy gave me a look before she got on the bus as if trying to tell me mentally 'hurry it up and get on the bus'. I nodded to her, saying I was coming along before turning back to the doctor.

"Well, I think that's my que to go" I said gesturing to the bus.

He nodded in understanding. "It was nice to see you, again, Coraline"

"I'll see you around, Carlisle" His eyes were truly a beautiful sight as they lit up. I don't know why my friendship mattered to him but I would take it. I gave him a wide smile before getting on the bus, sitting on the other side of Kathy. I looked out of the window, and Carlisle gave me a wave as the bus began to move.

I waved back before I turned back around, sitting normally. I would blame the slight blush on my cheeks as a reaction to the cold outside.

…

 **Yeah so, this chapter is a bit longer than my normal chapters. I hope you all like it! Also, I don't want Coraline to just immediately be in love with our dear Carlisle. Relationships take time to develop, in real life and in story form. I hope you guys like this chapter, I'm very bad at editing my chapters before I post them so that's why there's probably a lot of grammatical mistakes. Please forgive me and also tell me what you think about the latest chapter. I truly just live on the comments because I just love getting feedback on how you guys think the story is going. So, read! And Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC**

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"So, do you believe in aliens?" I asked, taking out a section of books from the shelf and placing them in the metal cart I was wheeling around. Carlisle shot me a questioning look. "You said I could ask you anything"

"I didn't think you'd pick aliens as the first topic" Carlisle was sitting in the large chair in the corner of the shop while I sorted books. It was a slow day at the bookstore, Ben had called in sick on this rainy Saturday so it was just me today, well, me and the good doctor.

I shrugged, glancing over at him as I grabbed another handful of books. "It's a perfectly reasonable question"

"Fine, then yes I do believe in aliens"

I looked at him, quirking my head to one side, "You do?" He didn't seem like the type.

"There are many things in the universe people don't understand" he explained. I had to agree with that, there were many things that never made any sense at all. There were the great wonders of the world, the unexplored parts of the sea, not even mentioning space, there were so many unknowns out there.

"Okay, it's your turn, ask me anything"

He leaned forward slightly, looking at me with those golden eyes of his. "Why did you move to Forks?"

I considered the question, it would take a bit of explaining. "Well, my mom and dad actually grew up here but moved away two years before I was born, my grandma still lived here though and I'd spend my summers coming down here to stay with her" I said, a ghost of a smile playing over my lips as I remembered sitting with my grandma in the living room while she taught me how to play the piano. She'd talk slowly, giving my wired brain enough time to process everything before she moved my hands back into the correct position. "I went to University in Seattle, I'd drive down to visit her almost every weekend, she had developed Alzheimer's a few years back and I had planned on moving here after graduation to help care for her…" I trailed off, it still stung slightly to talk about it.

"When did she pass?" He was looking up at me, his expression softer. I should have guessed that he would have figured that part out.

"This past October" I looked at the floor, it had been half a year and yet it still left my heart aching. I wouldn't cry, I had done much too much of that already. "She left me everything, her house, her assets, and so I just didn't leave"

"That's where you're still living?"

I nodded, "I couldn't bear to sell the place"

He nodded, looking at me with soft eyes. "What about your parent's?"

"Haven't you already used up your question?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood I had accidentally created. Although I still answered the question "They're living happily in Colorado and I think it's my turn to ask you something"

He smiled that amused side grin of his, "Go right ahead"

"What's your worst fear?"

"Any of my children dying" he answered automatically, he didn't even need to think about it. It was a noble fear, I expected no less from such a man.

"You do have to tell me more about them sometime, what they're like and all that"

"Do you really want to know?" he asked, looking up at me from his seat. The book he held in his hand was still unopened. I nodded, telling him to continue. "Well, the first thing you need to know is that Alice and Jasper are together and so are Rosalie and Emmet"

My forehead knitted together, I was confused. His adopted children were dating one another? That seemed a bit odd. I know none of them are related but still. "Your children are together? Like as a couple?"

He nodded, he seemed to consider what he was going to say before continuing. "It gets less strange once you really know the entirety of the circumstances"

I nodded. "I have to admit, a bit odd, but continue"

"Edward is more of the brooding type, he's been alone longer than the others have, he's only recently found someone, Bella Swan"

I recognized the last name. "Swan? As in Chief Swan's daughter?"

"That very one, she's good for him, he seems more alive recently, less secluded from the world, with her he's different"

I smiled, sighing. "Oh, young love" Carlisle laughed slightly at my sentiment and I didn't quite understand why. He was always like this, he seemed to share inside jokes with only himself, even if we were the only two in the conversation.

"Alice can seem a bit strange at first glance but she has a kind heart and her and Jasper complement each other well, balancing the other out, Jasper is quite stiff or quiet on his own" he explained, crossing his legs over the other as he sat, ever elegantly. "Rosalie can come off harshly at first but she has Emmet who really helps lighten up her mood"

"So, you have Edward, the brooding teen in love, the strange yet sweet Alice, the quiet Jasper, the harsh Rosalie, and the light-hearted Emmet?" I asked, summarizing everything he had said.

He laughed, his face lighting up in amusement. "I think you've just about got it"

"You sound like a lovely family"

We continued talking, switching to lighter, random questions. I thought suddenly about his potential partner, I wanted to ask about he or she but didn't know if it would be rude. We were friends but it was still a new friendship but I wanted to know about what Doctor Cullen's partner was like. Someone as sweet and kind as Doctor Cullen was bound to have a spouse, I reminded myself.

Having Doctor Cullen, or Carlisle, as I kept having to remind myself to call him, as a friend was rather nice. I felt comfortable talking to him. He was an interesting person, I didn't understand why he had taken an interest in me and I didn't understand why I had taken an interest in him either but I was glad for it, nonetheless.

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 **Hey, this is just a short little chapter that I wrote before I go to sleep. I just really wanted more chapters with them just being friends and really building a good foundation with one another. Tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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I smoothed out my skirt, standing up from my crouched position by the smaller desk. I was just picking up some of the papers the kids had left behind. School had already ending, I was just cleaning up while I waited for Kathy to get back from a staff meeting. Usually I would go with her but once a month, the teachers on the new hiring committee would meet to discuss the potential candidates and every month I felt a little more stressed as May approached. May was when they'd make their final decision.

I took a deep breath, shaking my head. Even if I didn't get the position, it would be okay. I could find another job. I if I didn't get the job then I had essentially just failed at my entire career choice and would be working at a bookstore for the rest of my life, alone, in my late grandmother's house. Yup, would be completely fine with any outcome, totally and completely fine. I was glad when Kathy came back into the room, interrupting the mental spiral I was about to go on.

"I told you to go home"

I shrugged, looking at her innocently. "I was just clearing some things up" I put the papers down on her desk in the corner, turning to her. "How did the meeting go?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's not May yet, Coraline"

"I know, I know"

"So, go home" I knew she was right. I couldn't worry about what I couldn't change.

"Fine, fine, I'll go home," I admitted, knowing I couldn't argue with this woman to save my life. "Have a good weekend" I grabbed my bag, pulling it over my shoulder. I heard Kathy repeat the sentiment to me as I walked out the door.

* * *

"You're just stressing out for no reason" Ben said, flicking through a stack of papers. We were going through the receipts for orders. "You know you're going to get the job, just stop worrying"

I frowned, "But I don't know that for sure, there are other qualified people out there"

"Yeah, that's true and probably with more experience too" he said, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You aren't making me feel better" I deadpanned, tossing a crumpled receipt at him. He dodged it easily, throwing me a look.

"You didn't let me finish, there are other people out there but there aren't a lot that want to work in the town of doom and gloom" I had to admit that he had a point.

"I guess you're right about that, but I can't help but still feel nervous"

We both heard the entrance bell ring; it was Carlisle. I gave him a smile as he entered.

"Doctor Cullen," Ben called him over, "Can you tell Coraline that she's stressing out over nothing?" I looked at Ben, rolling my eyes as the Doctor eyed the two of us with amusement.

"Don't listen to him!" I said, laughing. "I have a perfectly valid excuse to be stressed"

He raised an elegant eyebrow, "Is this about your teaching position?"

"So, she talks your ear off about it too?" chirped in Ben and I shot him a glare, breaking out into a laugh after a moment. I turned back to Carlisle who was looking at me with a soft smile.

"You're going to get the job, Coraline" Carlisle's eyes shined gold and I couldn't help but stare into them. They really were beautiful. His words were oddly soothing, I had heard the same sentiment more than once from multiple different people but it was different coming from him. I believed it when he said it.

I shook my head, looking down at the desk and tucking my hair behind my ear. "Thank you, Carlisle"

"So, you listen to him and not me" Ben said, jokingly.

"Well, maybe I just don't listen to people who have yet to finish their pile of receipts" I said gesturing to his large pile. I had finished mine while him and I had been talking earlier but Ben was a bit less good at multi-tasking. I smiled, turning back to Carlisle. "Are you here to pick up your order?"

He nodded, and I told him that I would just grab it from the back. I came back a few minutes later, book in hand. "You know I think you've bought more books here within the last two months than any other customer"

"You have my children to blame for that"

"Well, I couldn't possibly punish them for reading, not as an aspiring teacher anyway" I said, ringing the order up on the cash register. I smiled. "Plus, you ensuring my job security, so it all works out for me in the end"

"Yes, it had proved to be quite the tradeoff"

"Just don't go broke from buying too many books" I reminded and he looked at me with a smile playing on his lips.

"I don't think books will be my economic downfall"

"You never know, it'll be $9.95 by the way" He got out his brown leather wallet, giving me a ten-dollar bill. I slid the book with his change over the counter to him. "I hope Edward or Alice enjoy the book"

"I'll see you next time, Coraline"

"See you around, Carlisle" I responded, watching as he walked out the front door. My eyes lingered on the door for a few moments before Ben's voice brought me back.

"You and the doctor are on a first name basis now?" He looked up from his receipts, Ben had stayed silent for the second half of the doctor and I's conversation, just listening instead.

I shrugged, "We're friends"

Ben gave me a disbelieving look. "You like him"

I nodded, "As a friend" I specified.

"Oh, come on don't lie"

"I'm not lying!" I defended. "I don't like him in any more of a capacity than I do any of my other friends, plus he's married, isn't he?"

Ben looked at me with a questioning look, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Doctor Cullen isn't married, he's not even dating anyone, it's widely known"

As the words came out, my mind did a mental back step. "What?"

"Did you assume he was this entire time?" he asked, putting down the receipts in his hand. I nodded slowly, still considering the information. "Well, no wonder you haven't gone after him"

I looked at him, wide eyed, shaking my head. "No, it still changes nothing" He gave me another disbelieving look and I shook my head. "Married or not, him and I are and will only ever be friends"

He shook his head, seeming to give up. "Whatever you say, Coraline"

"I'm going to start unboxing the new arrivals in the back" I said, going into the back room.

All the while I was thinking about what Ben had told me. He wasn't married. Carlisle wasn't married. My goodness, Doctor Carlisle Cullen wasn't married. This really was a shock. I would have thought he was with someone, anyone, but to be unattached, that was a different image than I had in my head this entire time. I couldn't believe it. He was just so wonderful, I couldn't understand why he didn't have someone. It's not like many women weren't throwing themselves at him, I thought, thinking back to being at the hospital at him. That day, almost all the women and men were just enchanted with him as I suspected almost everyone who came into contact with the good doctor was. Maybe, I was too, but I wouldn't let it get to me. Him and I were friends, like I told Ben, and that's all we would ever be.

* * *

 **Hey, so I just wanted to let you guys know that the timeline of things is a bit off because while I have read all of the books, it's easier using the movies as a reference point for plot points. It's just much faster for me to check what happened where rather than having to re-read an entire book, I just wanted to let you guys know that. As always, tell me what you think of the latest chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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Fridays were always so quiet, especially in the afternoon to night shift. It's not like there were many people that wanted to spend their night going to a very strange bookstore in a barely populated part of town. That's how I spent most of my Saturday's though and I didn't mind it really. I only worked at the bookshop on Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays. I usually worked with other people, mostly Ben, but as graduation grew nearer, he worked less to accommodate his increased studying. On the other day's I would be at the school helping Kathy out and being trained. Working the late shift meant that I often had a lot of time alone lately. Alone time in which I usually used to make preparations for school but Kathy hadn't given me anything more to do and I was bored. I had already swept the floor, cleaned the back room, brewed tea and then drank it, and so I resorted to something else. Something that I knew was a fruitless effort.

I resorted to attempting to sort the shelves again. I had just taken the entire bottom row out from one of the bookshelves and stacked them in a tall pile next to me. I diligently made my way through the store shelf by shelf and was already on the second aisle when I heard the entrance bell ring.

My head turned automatically, looking at who had entered from my place on the floor, still surrounded by books. Golden eyes caught mine and he made his way over to me, looking at me questioningly as he gazed at the clutter around me.

"I'm sorting" I explained to which he nodded, seemingly accepting my answer.

"I can see that"

"Did your son or daughter place an order? I can go and get it" I said, beginning to get up from my cross-legged position on the floor.

"No, no, sit, continue, I was just going to look around" I nodded, gesturing to the other aisles of books. He gave me one more smile before walking off into them. I shook my head, willing myself to refocus on my task. I couldn't get distracted now when I was so close to making it to aisle three.

I got back into the groove of sorting a few minutes later, clearing my head of the man walking around the store. Well, that was until he decided to take a seat in the chair by the wall, a book in hand. He wasn't looking at me or even making any noise but it was entirely too distracting. I couldn't get any work done with him just sitting there reading silently. Why was he even here? It was 5pm on a Tuesday. Who even went to a bookshop at this time?

"Why are you here?" I asked suddenly. His eyes snapped up, looking at me a bit taken back.

He raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that it was a crime"

"I'm sorry, it's just don't you have other places to be, friends to see and all that, it's a Saturday night"

"You're here too"

I turned fully toward him, shaking my head. "It's my job, you didn't even come in here today with any book orders for your son or daughter"

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read before shaking his head. "You're good company"

My eyes widened, I was surprised by his answer. I suddenly had an epiphany. "Carlisle, do you not have other friends?"

"I have friends" he assured.

"In Forks?" He went silent and I smiled triumphantly, I had him there. I couldn't believe it. How had this charming man not had any friends? He was clearly liked by everyone he met or interacted with. It was impossible for him not to have any other friends. "Haven't you been here for three years? How have you not made any friends during that time?"

"I'm very busy, with the hospital and my family" It suddenly all made sense. Why he was so interactive with me and wanted to be my friend, why came in so often. He was just lonely, craving interaction that wasn't from someone at work or his kids. That made way more sense than the several theories I had begun to contemplate. I had even begun to think he might like me at one point. Well, I could just throw that theory right out the window now. Everything would remain strictly platonic, it was better that way anyway.

"I can't believe I'm your only friend, it's flattering really" I said, teasing him slightly. I didn't want to make it seem like I didn't want him here. I did. Honestly, I did, he was someone I had never thought I'd connect with but we had and it was wonderful. I didn't want to lose that. "I don't mind you being here, really, I was just curious as to why you did"

"I really do pick up my children's orders"

"Almost 4 times a week within the last month?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He had been coming in an awful lot more lately. It made me wonder…. but no, now I knew the real reason.

"You've got a very strong point, although I do have friends, just in other parts of the world"

"Other parts of the world?" I questioned. Where exactly had this man lived before.

"I was born in London"

I was not expecting that. "You don't have an accent"

"I've spent many years in the states and its faded over time" he explained simply.

"Why did you move?"

He seemed to hesitate before answering. "I just decided that I wanted a different life than the one I was living there and it's worked out for me, I found Edward and then Rosalie and then the rest just sort of came naturally into our family"

"What about your family in London?" An almost pained expression passed through his features and I regretted asking immediately. I didn't want to pry into his personal life, it wasn't my place to do that. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me about it"

"No, it's fine, I just haven't explained it to anyone for a long time" he said, shaking his head, his eyes seemed almost sad. I scooted closer, almost unconsciously, to his chair which was now only a foot away. "My father raised me alone, my mother having died in childbirth, my father was a strict man, not approving of some of my more forgiving acts as I trained under him to become a pastor as well, I knew he loved me, in his own way at least, but he wasn't the most understanding person, he was much more fire and brimstone than I was and after," Carlisle hesitated, considering his words before continuing. "After I did something, that changed me, changed who I would be, I knew that I couldn't go back and so I never did" He looked at me as he finished, trying to gauge my reaction.

"Have you ever thought to go back now? Just to see him again"

"He passed away a very long time ago and even if he were still alive, I'm afraid he could never forgive me"

"I'm sure that whatever you did could be forgiven, Carlisle"

He shook his head, "You've never met my father and no I don't think he would ever be okay with what happened"

"I'm sorry" I didn't know what to say or how to comfort him in anyway. He didn't seem entirely sad but he didn't seem entirely fine either. I moved hesitantly, shuffling a bit closer before I reached out, placing my hand slowly on his.

My entire body reacted without any conscious effort as I touched his cold hand. It was the first time we had ever touched. It felt like my entire body had been charged with energy, all at once shocking me. It made me never want to let go. I had no idea where this was all coming from, after all I had only just meant to be comforting.

Carlisle's eyes snapped to mine almost instantly, a mix of uncertainty and something I couldn't recognize clouding in those golden orbs. He stood quickly, breaking our connection. I looked up at him, I didn't know what to say or do and just watched as he walked off, muttering that he had to go. I still sat there, confused, as I heard his car start quickly and then drive off, leaving me alone once again with my books.

* * *

 **Hey I finished another chapter, I figured it was time to throw this pair a bone and have them touch hands (Scandalous, I know). Haha anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I read every single review and love getting feedback so always Read! And Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC**

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I was having trouble sleeping. There was no fancy way of saying it, it was just plain and simple. I would lie awake for hours just tossing and turning in my bed until I eventually gave up and went to make tea in the kitchen. I would pace around the house in my pajamas, doing this or that to tire out my mind before returning to my bed, the clock already telling me that I would have to wake up soon. It was a frustrating cycle and even when I did manage to fall asleep I would dream of blonde hair and golden eyes. I had no idea what was happening to me.

Perhaps it was guilt. After Carlisle had abruptly left the bookshop, I hadn't seen him sense and I also hadn't gotten much sleep ever since. Counting today, made it three and a half weeks now since the incident. I still didn't know what had gone wrong. One moment he was sharing something personal and the next he was bolting out the door as fast as possible. Maybe I had pushed for too much information, but I told him that he didn't need to share. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to comfort him, maybe I had made him uncomfortable and now he was avoiding me. Whatever the case was, I was pretty tired of it, literally and figuratively.

Kathy had noticed the bags under my eyes lately, commenting that I needed to get more rest but she didn't understand, that's what I was trying to do but nothing seemed to work. I tried counting sheep, listening to relaxing noises, but nothing worked, I was out of options. Two weeks into it, Ben suggested seeing a doctor about insomnia, he told me that maybe they could prescribe me sleeping medication.

I had listened to the advice, scheduling an appointment for the next day. I had also hoped that I would run into Carlisle while at the hospital, I wanted to talk to him, ask him what I had done or just about what happened. I had no such luck. When I went to the hospital, he was nowhere and I had just gone into see the doctor like any other patient. She prescribed me sleeping medication, saying it worked on everyone and that once I fell into a normal sleeping routine I could even come off of the medication.

It didn't work. The medication had no effect on my insomnia. I went back again and still I didn't see Dr. Cullen. My doctor upped my prescription, telling me that now I would defiantly feel the effects. She wasn't wrong. I woke up 24 hours later with almost no recollection of the day and night before, plus it left me with a head full of dreams of the elusive doctor.

I didn't go back to the doctors a third time, just accepting my insomniac fate along with the dreams. I couldn't use the medication and would just have to learn to deal with it. They weren't bad dreams after all. Usually, it was just flashes of the good doctor, coming in waves and then disappearing. I knew what I had to do to get rid of my insomnia and the dreams but I never saw him anymore.

After that day, I wanted to talk to Carlisle about what happened. I just wanted to ask him what was wrong but he never came. I waited time and time again, looking at the door every time the entrance bell rang, hoping it would be him. It never was. I still thought about that night. Usually, only analyzing what I could have done but sometimes I'd allow myself to think about how touching him made me feel. It wasn't in a perverse way, it just seemed to ignite something and then all too soon, before I could even process it fully, it was gone and so was he.

I rolled over, pulling the covers over me. I still couldn't go to sleep and it was observation day in class tomorrow. The vice principal would be sitting in on our class tomorrow and writing up observations of me that would come to reflect on me during my end evaluation. I couldn't afford to be tired from lack of sleep nor could I afford to be drowsy from my very strong medication.

I glanced at the clock on my wall. Crap, it was already 6am. I would have to be at school in an hour to help with traffic duty. I don't know why I had signed up for it. I sighed, pushing the blanket off, I would just make a lot of tea to get me through the day.

I got up, getting ready for the day, the morning slowly creeping by. I pulled on my comfortable grey dress, pulling it over my head. I brushed my hair and teeth before making my way into the kitchen. I would need a lot of tea to get through the day.

Going to school was a bigger struggle, I don't think I had slept more than four hours in the last three days. By the time I showed up for traffic control, I was absolutely exhausted.

"Do you want to switch out with me?" I jumped at the unexpected voice, turning around.

"Mr. Williams, you scared me" I said looking up at the taller man. Williams taught the fourth grade and we had met before at a few of the staff meetings.

"Sorry, it's just that you seem a bit tired, I can take over your traffic shift"

I smiled, "No, no, I'm fine, I just haven't been sleeping well lately but I've fine" I said, shaking my head and smiling politely.

"If you're sure"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, I'll be good here"

"Have a good day then, Ms. Parsons"

"And to you too" Mr. Williams gave me a wide smile before walking off. Man, I must be pretty tired for someone else to notice. I sighed, it would be a long day.

* * *

Welp, my day was an absolute garbage fire. Literally, there was a fire started in the garbage can in the boys' bathroom today. Apparently, a student had brought matches to school and they were playing with them in the bathroom, it got out of hand and they tried to throw the evidence away which resulted in a garage fire.

I had downed a ton of tea before beginning to teach and thought it was going pretty well until the fire alarm went off. The student pulled the fire alarm in the middle of when I was teaching and the vice-principal was taking notes. Then as the fire alarm went off the kids were calm at first believing that it was just a drill but as soon as one of them caught word that there was a real fire, absolute chaos ensued. It was just a mad house. Everyone had to evacuate the school into the recess area and the fire department showed up and it was just a big mess.

The fire hadn't spread to anywhere except the metal trashcan and it should have been dealt with rather quickly but fire combined with a bunch of kids under the age of ten did not work out well. Parents came to the school, kids were sent home early, and lessons were cancelled but the staff had to have a mandatory meeting to discuss the events.

The staff meeting was just so long and the room was warm and the principal's voice was just very soothing and I found myself drifting in and out of sleep. Kathy would jab me in the side when she noticed me drifting off resulting in me having a bruised side. I was actually quite grateful for her because it would be so much worse if I fell asleep during a staff meeting.

After the meeting was over, I found myself back with Kathy in our classroom, paper was scattered everywhere and various pencils were laying on the ground.

"You need to get more sleep"

"I know, I know, I keep trying but nothing works" I said, crouching down to gather up the papers on the ground.

"You realize that you can't be a teacher on zero hours of sleep, and it doesn't look good on me if you keep falling asleep during staff meetings" said Kathy, easily gathering up all of the markers that were scattered on the desk.

I sighed. I knew she was right. Kathy sent me home with orders to get a full night's rest and come back on Monday bright eyed. I thanked her before leaving, driving slowly home.

I decided to take a long hot bath to help me relax, I felt so tense lately. The bath didn't work. The water was just tepid and I couldn't settle in and I just felt so uncomfortable. I decided to make some tea, padding around the house in my long night dress. The tea didn't help either this time. It just wasn't as satisfying as it had been. Maybe I was just hungry. I hadn't eaten breakfast and had only had a granola bar for lunch. I warmed up soup that I had made the night before, cutting a piece of homemade bread.

After I had eaten, I felt slightly better but I was still tired. I decided to try my luck at sleeping and quickly got ready for bed. I laid down, looking at the ceiling and pulling the covers over me. The night was quiet, nothing was moving and I was just all alone. I closed my eyes, clearing my head. I turned over, clearing my head again. I could do this. It was just sleeping. I pulled the covers over my head, determined to get some sleep.

I think I could feel the hours tick away as I kept my eyes closed. I tossed from side to side under the blanket. I just wanted to go to bed. That's all I wanted, couldn't I just have that. I kept my eyes closed, hoping that eventually my mind would settle down but it all just came back to the same conclusion. I needed to talk to Carlisle. I think I just felt guilty or something along those lines.

Why did I feel like this? It made me feel so horrible. It wasn't fair. I wanted to talk to him about it but he was nowhere to be found. What was I supposed to do? How was this even my fault? I didn't deserve this. I was just so frustrated with everything that was going on.

I sighed, uncovering my head and turning to the side. I looked at the clock on my night stand. God, it was 1am. I laid in bed for another hour and then another two hours until it was nearly 8am and I hadn't slept at all. Thank goodness that it's Saturday and I didn't have to work until later on in the afternoon.

I couldn't do this anymore, I just really couldn't go another day without getting a proper night of rest. I had to do something. I had to talk to Carlisle.

Before I could properly think about what I was doing, I was slipping out of my pajamas and into a long skirt and baggy sweater, not bothering to do anything to my hair but leave it down. I grabbed my car keys and threw on my glasses, I couldn't drive without them. I was in my car, driving down to the hospital before I even fully realized it.

I didn't know what I was doing. What was I doing? I didn't even know if he was working today. All that I knew was that he once mentioned in passing that he was sometimes worked during the weekends. That was about all I had to go on and I was just going to show up at the hospital. Yup, that was my entire plan. Oh no, that's my entire plan, I realized as I pulled into the hospital parking lot. Maybe this was a bad idea. He could have just been upset about something else. What if it wasn't me? What if my brain was just overthinking about this entire thing?

I turned off car, looking out at the parking lot. It wasn't very crowded. I also realized that I really didn't remember what Carlisle's car looked like so that was no help at all. I couldn't even tell if he was there. I put my head on the steering wheel, maybe I was going mad. I turned down the car mirror, looking at my reflection. The first thing I noticed was the tired lines under my eyes, it really wasn't a good look. I couldn't live like this, I decided. Flipping the mirror closed, I sighed, opening my car door. I had to get out before I changed my mind and got back into my car and drove away.

Outside it looked like it was about to rain, the clouds hovering above the town. I walked slowly, hesitantly, across the parking lot and into the brightly lit waiting room. There weren't many people there, just a few patients and the nurses lingering behind the counter.

I went up to the front desk, I recognized the nurse. It was Nurse Sandra, the one I had met on the field trip. "Nurse Sandra" I said, coming up to her with a polite smile. She looked briefly confused before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Oh, Ms. Parsons, how can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if Doctor Cullen is here, I just need to speak with him for a moment" I said, giving her an innocent look and hoping she would comply.

She looked over a piece of paper, looking at a list. "Well, it says here that he's working, I can just page him to the lobby for you" she offered.

I smiled gratefully at her. "Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you"

"You can just wait here" she gestured to the waiting area chairs and I nodded, thanking her again before I went to take a seat.

I took a seat, grabbing a magazine from the table nearby. I flipped through it languidly, not really focusing on any of the articles but just looking through the pictures absent mindedly. The clock ticked across the quiet room and I glanced at it as I set the magazine down. It had been over ten minutes since I arrived.

I opened another magazine, flipping through it quickly before placing it down and looking back up at the clock. Another 4 minutes had passed and still no signs of the good doctor. Maybe this entire thing, coming here, had been a mistake. Perhaps I should just go. I looked at the clock, watching as three more minutes ticked by before I stood up.

Going back over to Nurse Sandy, she looked up at me. "I paged Doctor Cullen, sorry he might just be busy with something, I'm sure he'll be here soon"

I shook my head, "I think I'm just going to go, I'm sorry, thank you for your help"

She nodded politely, "Of course, have a good day Ms. Parsons" I smiled at her, thankful for her help before turning away. I would just go back home, maybe I'd try making another appointment with my doctor to try and get a different sleeping medication.

Just as I made it outside the hospital doors and into the parking lot, a voice called back to me.

"Coraline" the familiar melodic voice called out. I turned and that was the last thing I heard before I felt my world go black as I looked into a pair of beautiful golden eyes.

* * *

 **I wrote another chapter! Sorry about my bad grammar and spelling, I'm bad at reviewing things before I post them. I'm curious to hear how you guys like this chapter and the direction I'm taking this in. So, please read and Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC  
**

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My head felt fuzzy, my vision blurry as I slowly blinked into consciousness. The lights were dim, I must have fallen asleep. I opened my eyes fully, yawning as I stretched my arms. As I blinked awake, the memories came flooding back to me. Oh right, I had come to the hospital in search of Doctor Cullen and then fainted in the parking lot. After that, I didn't remember anything.

I slowly sat up, I hadn't felt this rested in weeks, I didn't even realize how exhausted I was until then. I looked around the room, I was clearly in the hospital if the medical grade sheets and charts on the wall were any indication. The blinds were pulled closed so I couldn't determine the exact time of day and there wasn't a clock in this room but I suspected it was night.

The clicking sound of the door opening surprised me and I didn't have enough time to prepare for guests as I waited to see who it was.

I somehow wasn't very surprised to see Doctor Cullen walk in, "I thought you were up"

"How'd you figure that?" I asked, raising one eyebrow at him.

"Doctor's instincts"

"Well, if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to go home" I said firmly, looking at him with clear eyes. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel in this moment.

He frowned, "I don't think that's the best idea yet Coraline, you should stay here for further observation until we're completely sure that you're okay"

I shook my head. "No, I'm going to go home, I'm fine"

"You've been asleep for 13 hours, you're not just going to walk out of here" he said. This was the first time I'd ever heard him say anything so firmly but I just really wasn't in the mood. First this man avoids me and gives me insomnia and then he won't let me leave.

"I'm perfectly fine, I'm not even hooked up to any of the fancy machines in here and I'm still wearing the outfit I came in here with, which I suspect means that you know I'm perfectly fine as well" I had him there. At this point I didn't care about talking things out with him, I just wanted to go home. Home was where I didn't have to deal with this.

I got up off of the bed, groaning softly as I did so and I felt Carlisle's hands ghost slightly around me, ready to steady me if I needed it but he didn't touch me.

"Coraline, you aren't going through this door" he warned and I spun around to face him. I was slightly off balance but I didn't care.

"Well then, I'll climb out the window, but I think I would almost defiantly end up plummeting to my death so I really suggest you let me use the door" I have him a hard expression, letting him know that I was completely serious and wouldn't give up until he let me leave.

We stood there, staring at each other for I don't know how long, neither of us looking away until he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well, you're not driving" he said, holding up my keys. I went to grab them but he moved quickly and I only succeeded in stumbling forward slightly, my mind still groggy from sleep.

"Those are mine" I said, straightening myself out.

"You just woke up from over twelve hours of sleep, there's no way you're going to drive."

"Well, I am going home" I stayed firm on this point. One way or another I was going to go home.

"Fine," he said simply and I looked at him skeptically. There had to be a catch. "I'll drive you, come on" he opened the door, walking through it. He turned around, gesturing for me to follow him.

I looked at him for a second, confused, before following him out the door. He was walking quickly down the hall and I was slightly rushing to keep up.

"Aren't you working?" I said, catching up with him.

"My shift ended two hours ago" His words gave me pause and I stopped for a moment before rushing to catch up with him again. I was utterly confused at what in the world was going on. He stopped walking suddenly and I almost crashed into him. "Wait here for a moment, I'll only be a minute" he said, looking at me as if he was concerned I'd run off. I only nodded.

Being alone in the hallway, made me realize how out of sorts I must seem to anyone passing by. My hair was probably very messy and my clothes were rumpled. I must look like a real mess. I didn't have much time to dwell on it though, as Doctor Cullen came out of the room he went into. He had shed his white coat and had put on a grey cardigan over his dress shirt along with a blue scarf around his neck. He absolutely did not look like he had worked an entire day.

We started walking again, slower this time, I think he suspected that he was walking just a bit too fast for me to walk comfortably. We made our way out the main entrance and I kept my eyes firmly glued on the ground, I didn't want to see anyone at the moment.

It was dark as we entered the parking lot, I had almost forgotten that I slept for basically the entire day. By my calculations it was probably around nine or ten at night. I shot the doctor a confused look as we walked to the left instead of to the right where my car was parked.

"Where are we going?"

"We're taking my car" he said, pointing to the car at the end of the lot.

As we got closer to the black Mercedes Carlisle unlocked the door, going over to my side first and opening the door, ever the gentleman. I nodded to him, getting in quickly. I never thought I would find myself inside Doctor Cullen's car, never in a million years. The interior was just as sleek as the outside and I felt out of place in my flower skirt and beige sweater as I sat on the expensive leather seats. I shifted around slightly before buckling my seat belt, looking at Carlisle as he did the same before he turned on the car, the engine roaring to life.

I didn't know what to say or even what to do so I took to staring out the window. He asked me where I lived and I told him quickly, not looking at him as he began to drive I could feel Carlisle's flick over to me every once in a while, I suspected that he didn't know what to say either. We stayed in silence as the drive continued, both of us not knowing what to say.

The drive wasn't long. I didn't live too far away and I was relieved when we pulled into my driveway. He pulled in towards the front before parking the car. We sat there in silence once again and I turned towards him, looking at him from the side.

"Thank you for driving me, Doctor Cullen"

"We're back to 'Doctor Cullen' again then," he said. An almost hurt expression passed over his features but I must have imagined it. After all, my brain was still rather foggy. "I guess I deserve that"

I looked at him, my expression hard. A part of me wanted to just go inside but another part of me, a bigger part, wanted to know what had happened.

I wasn't mad, I just wanted to understand. "Did I do something wrong that night?" I asked softly. His eyes flicked up to me and he looked confused but confused at what? I didn't know.

"You didn't do anything wrong" he said, shaking his head. "You didn't do anything wrong" he repeated again.

"Then what…then what happened?" I was confused, if I hadn't done something wrong then what was wrong. He looked at me for a moment, I didn't know what to think. This man had somehow wormed his way into my life and I just didn't want to lose him.

"Would you believe me if I said that I can't tell you?"

"Why can't you tell me?"

"I just can't, Coraline, not now" he said, his eyes looked like they were pleading with me to understand.

"But someday you would?"

He hesitated before nodding, "Maybe one day, that's the only answer I can give you right now" he didn't look like he was lying.

I took a deep breath, exhaling audibly, "If I say that you don't have to tell me, then will you stop avoiding me" A hint of a smile made its way onto Carlisle's pale face, illuminating it within the car and he nodded. I smiled at him, "No more hiding?"

His smile widened further, "No more hiding" he agreed.

"Well, good" I said, nodding my head, biting my lip. I felt oddly energized.

He looked at me for a second before reaching into his pocket and handing me something. It was my glasses. I hadn't even noticed that they were missing. I really needed to keep better track of my things.

"Oh yeah, what about my car?" I said, suddenly remembering that we had left it at the hospital.

"I'll drop it off tomorrow, don't worry about it" he assured. Normally, I wouldn't approve of someone else driving my car but I felt like I could trust him. He didn't look like he was the type to just crash my car or drive it off of a bridge. That image defiantly didn't suit the good doctor.

"Okay, well I think I should get inside" I said, smiling shyly. I opened the door getting out of the car.

Before closing it, I bent over slightly, looking in. He turned to me, his head was tilted ever so slightly as he stared at me, waiting for me to speak. "Don't be a stranger, Carlisle"

A smile danced over his lips. "Goodnight, Coraline" I couldn't help the shiver as he said my name but I dismissed it on account of the cold. I could dismiss a lot thanks to the cold. I closed the door, walking to my front door.

Carlisle waited in the front driveway until I was safely inside the house before I heard his car drive away. I sighed against the doorway, making my way over to the couch and throwing myself down.

While it hadn't gone exactly as I had imagined it when I left the house nearly fourteen hours ago, I had still accomplished my goal. I felt like a weight had been lifted. I closed my eyes, pulling a pillow into my arms and for the first time in three and a half weeks, I was able to fall asleep without a second thought.

* * *

 **I have a mental plan of how the story is going to play out but then what I actually write comes out different and then I have to adjust my plan which throws off the pacing I was going for and so I have to revise the pacing again and adjust the chapter to match the rest. Anyway, I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. I read and love every single review so please tell me what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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I woke up the next morning, still on my couch. The clock read that it was already 11am in the morning. I must have really needed to sleep. I padded my way towards the kitchen, looking out the window. My car was parked outside. Carlisle must have already dropped it off. I was glad that him and I had talked last night. I had a feeling that things were going to start to look up.

I was right. The following weeks were much better than the preceding ones. Kathy commented that I looked much better and so did my co-workers at the bookstore. I had even nailed my next observation day with the vice-principal. Everything seemed to bounce back, my energy was up and I was sleeping normal hours again.

The only thing that hadn't gone away was the dreams. I originally thought that the dreams were a reaction to guilt and just like the insomnia, they would go away once I had talked everything out with Carlisle but they persisted. They had even increased in frequency lately. They were all rather innocent, most of the time he would just be standing there or smiling at me. Occasionally, our hands would brush in the dream and I'd feel a similar shock of electricity pulse through me before I'd wake up, out of breath and confused. The dreams didn't make sense to me. I didn't understand why I was so haunted by his golden eyes, his pale skin, and just all of Carlisle Cullen.

Admittedly, I had been seeing a lot more of Carlisle lately. Within the past couple weeks, every time I had a shift at the bookstore, he was there. We found ourselves in a lovely little nook of contentment in our friendship. We would talk for the majority of my shift before he would have to leave or I would finish my shift and have to leave. We already ran through the majority of random questions that we could think of and often just spent a lot of time talking about our days.

I learned a great deal about the inner workings of the hospital, learning which nurse was the best and which patients were the nicest. Carlisle spoke fondly about his work, he was always very patient towards helping people. I told him about my work too, about the kids who were struggling in certain subjects and what events were going on. He always listened perfectly, nodding in the right areas and asking me questions at the right times. It was very nice.

While we spoke, sometimes an image from my dream would flash through my mind or the feeling of an electric surge would rush through me. I couldn't help but take pause in those moments. The moments when his eyes would light up as he talked, elaborating on this or that. The moments when he would give me a smile, his eyes flickering with amusement as I did something silly. I could never forget those moments.

"You and Dr. Cullen seem close these days" commented Ben. We were setting up the new arrivals section of the store.

"Of course, we are, we're friends"

"You guys are more than friends" he continued, "All the giggling and laughing, all the talking about your personal lives, it's all clear signs of being more than friends"

I shook my head, stacking the books into a pile. "Friends do all of that stuff too, Ben, and since when have you taken it upon yourself to comment on the people in my life?"

"Since said person is always in here, I'm surprised he isn't here now actually"

"He won't be in today, he's covering Dr. Platt's shift at the hospital because today's his daughter's birthday"

"Okay, see this is what I'm talking about, normal people don't remember stuff like that" dsaid Ben, looking at me with an exasperated expression, "And also, 'just friends' don't tell each other when they're going to not visit the other one at work."

I rolled my eyes. Admittedly, Carlisle and I's friendship was a bit different than any of the other friendships in my life but that was only because he started off as just any other customer. Now, he was one of the people that I talked to the most.

"Him and I are only ever going to be friends, Ben" That was the truth. I knew that I liked Carlisle but it was just friendship, I had put a box around what we were. Our relationship would remain strictly within the box of friendship.

"So, if he suddenly asked you out, you'd say no?" he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, I would say no" I confirmed without hesitating.

Ben shook his head. "I don't believe that for a second"

"Him and I are in a very good place, I would never want to ruin that"

"So, you do like him then! You just don't want to ruin the relationship" he said, acting as if he were victorious.

I answered automatically, back peddling. "No, that's definitely not what I meant, I just meant that him and I are in a good place right now, I wouldn't ruin that by developing romantic feelings for the man"

"So, you admit that you _could_ develop feelings for him"

I shook my head, rolling my eyes at Ben's words. "Can we just drop this entire topic, please?"

He shot me a look before holding up his arms in surrender. "Fine, speaking of switching topics, you are coming to my graduation, right?"

I had to do a double take at Ben, looking at him as if he had grown a second head. "What?"

"Graduation? You know that thing I've been talking about since the day I met you, ring a bell?" he said, teasing me slightly as he grinned at my baffled expression.

"You want me to go to your graduation?" I drew slowly, the words still processing in my mind. I wasn't expecting him to ask. In all honesty, I had never moved Ben out of the box of 'work colleague that I like working with the most'.

"Of course," he said, nodding as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I couldn't have passed some of my classes without your endless nagging." I shoved him at that, laughing as I did so.

I had to admit that Ben had become a fixture in my life. I suppose he had become my friend without me even realizing it. "I guess I can carve out some time to come to the ceremony"

"How kind and gracious of you to make time for me" I laughed at his ridiculousness. Life was good. I now had more friends than I thought I had a few months ago.

Yes, things had settled quite well in the past couple of weeks and I couldn't be gladder for it.

* * *

 **Yeah, so I know that ever since I started this fic, I've been posting at least a chapter a day but I have my winter final tomorrow so updating might not happen tomorrow. I hope this chapter can sate everyone until I write the next one. Please let me know what you think of the story so far!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC**

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Friday seemed to be everyone's favorite day but for a teacher, it was their worst nightmare of a day, besides Monday of course. Everyone hated Monday. Friday, however, seemed to bring in the slowest of minds and an air of energy that wasn't directed at learning. All that was on the kids' minds was the thought that the weekend was close by and it was like pulling teeth to get any of them to focus on their lessons.

Kathy once told me that the true test of a teacher was trying to get the kids to do anything the day before summer break. Most teachers simply folded under the pressure, letting their class watch a movie or some sort but Kathy had specifically told me that I would not be one of those teachers. She had given me the task of planning a lesson for them that day, it was still three weeks away so I still had time but as the days inched closer I felt my stress level rise higher and higher. Kathy seemed almost amused as I continued to ask her for opinions on what seemed right and what definitely wouldn't work. Since this was my last assignment for the school year, Kathy refused to do a full review of any potential lessons that I prepared, saying that I needed to figure it out on my own and use all that I had learned to come up with something that would wrap up everything the kids had learned in a neat bow before sending them off to forget everything over the course of the summer.

I was currently sitting at Kathy's desk. She had already gone home for the evening but I had opted to stay later to review some of my notes. Once I went home, I knew I would fall right into the trap of cable television and a hot cup of tea and I really needed to focus. That thought was quickly scattered to the wind as a voice interrupted my note review.

"Coraline, I was hoping you were still here" It was Mr. Williams. I looked up from my papers, giving him a polite smile as he walked further into the room.

"Please, sit" I said, gesturing to one of the two adult-sized chairs that were in the room. "What's up?"

He took a seat, scooting the chair a little closer to the desk before speaking. "Since you're almost part of the staff," he began giving me a knowing look. I had half the mind to tell him that I hadn't been hired yet but I kept my mouth shut, letting him continue. "A few of us were just wondering if you wanted to join the little volunteering group we've formed"

My head tilted slightly to the side, "Volunteering group?"

"It's just a little thing that's been tradition for a little while, every Saturday morning we volunteer at the children's ward at the hospital, just helping out during arts and crafts and sometimes coming up with new projects for the kids to do, we also help out around the holidays to help the kids decorate" he said, smiling fondly. "You don't have to, of course, but we'd love to have you, usually it's a group of around five or six of us"

I was taken aback but I was also glad for the offer. I liked kids, if that wasn't obvious enough from the choice of my profession, and I had also been looking for a way to connect with the rest of the staff. Ever since I started, I hadn't made much friends with the other teachers and only really talked with Kathy, both in class and during staff meetings. It wasn't as if I hadn't tried to reach out but all I had succeeded in doing is making a bunch of acquaintances with no one I felt I could really trust. That was until I met Mr. Willliams. He was a sweet man, we had met at a staff meeting just before winter break had let out and he was always kind, talking in a jovial tone about his class. He was also madly in love with his wife of nearly twenty years. He certainly didn't look old, he was only 39 after all. Him and his wife were high school sweet hearts and it was really sweet how much he loved her.

I realized then that I had been silent for much too long as Mr. Williams continued to look at me, waiting for my answer. I shook my head, answering quickly. "Of course, I'd love to"

Mr. Williams gave me a wide smile, "That's great, I'll let the group know that you'll be there tomorrow." He said, his tone light as his features lit up with excitement.

"Tomorrow?" I had completely forgotten that tomorrow was Saturday.

He seemed to take my surprised tone as hesitation and quickly started to back pedal. "Or next Saturday, either is fi-"

I cut him off before he went too far into rambling, "No, tomorrow is perfectly alright"

"Great!" he said, springing from his seat. "I'll see you tomorrow at 9am, it only goes until around 11:40am-12pm"

"Do I meet you guys somewhere specific inside?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head, smiling. "Why don't I just pick you up tomorrow, just so that you don't get lost goin in"

"I couldn't impose" I said shaking my head.

"Nonsense, it's not imposing, it's much better than you gettin lost on your first day there" He had a point there. I was quite directionally challenged sometimes and would probably have gotten lost in the hospital despite having been given a tour before. Directions were just difficult.

"Okay, sure" I gave him my address, writing it down on a sticky note and he told me he'd be there at 8:45am to pick me up. I figured that I had enough time to finish up volunteering and then he could drop me back home, where I could just drive myself to the bookstore from there.

I thanked him waving to him as he left and wishing him a goodnight. I looked back down at the papers on my desk and sighed. I had to get working on my lesson plan.

* * *

The next morning found me tired and with a slight headache. I groaned as I looked at the clock; I still had an hour and a half until Mr. Williams would be picking me up. I rolled out of bed and headed for the kitchen to make breakfast.

I grabbed a pot, putting a bit of water in it before dumping a bowls worth of oats into the water. I took my oatmeal like I always did, packed with more sugar than oats and mixed up with strawberries. It was something I could eat everyday but often didn't just because I didn't want to give myself a sugar rush daily but I figured I could use the short term energy it would give me.

By the time Mr. Williams was outside, I had showered and changed into a lose pair of blue jeans, a blue flowy blouse with a jacket thrown over, and my normal brown boots that I wore to work at the bookstore. I would have work after this anyway, might as well dress prepared for it. I wouldn't have a ton of in-between time to change if we ran over time at the hospital. I grabbed my bag, pulling it over my shoulder as I closed and locked the door behind me.

I walked over to the car, smiling as I opened the door.

"Good morning"

"Morning, I hope you're prepared to meet the grand jury" he said jokingly.

"Grand jury?" I asked, looking at him as I buckled my seat belt.

"It's what we call the kids," he explained, smiling widely as he pulled out of my driveway. "If they like you, it'll make your job way easier but if they don't like you then you'll be sitting alone in a corner for the rest of the morning."

"I'm quite sure you didn't mention that to me yesterday when I signed up" I said, a hint of a smile on my lips.

"Well, you're great with the kids at school, I'm sure they'll love you here too" he assured. I laughed but said nothing.

Mr. Williams made light conversation in the car, asking me about little things here and there, talking about this or that as we drove along. I responded in kind, wanting to make a connection with the teachers at the school I wanted to work for. Dealing with the kids and lesson plans were only part of the battle, the other part was dealing with the faculty.

We made it to the hospital within ten minutes, walking out of the car together as we talked lightly. As we came inside, a few of the nurses recognized him and passed him a sign in sheet which he also handed to me to sign. After that, we were given two volunteering badges with pink cards in the back, signaling that we belonged in the children's ward. I followed behind Mr. Williams letting him lead the way, as he had been here much more than I had. As we weaved our way through the halls, I was suddenly very glad that Mr. Williams escorted me here because I defiantly would have gotten lost on my way here.

We finally made our way through swinging double doors that stretched into a small hallway of doors. The walls were lined with drawings and paintings, all looking to be from the kids who stayed here. There was a nurse's station not far off and one of the nurse's waved at us as we passed and made our way into the main area.

The main area reminded me of the kindergarten to first grade classrooms which were often more colorful and exuberant than the higher grades. There were chairs ranging in size in the circular space, a mess of colors blending together to make a rather cozy atmosphere. Some of the kids were already there along with a few other teachers from school that I recognized.

A little girl who couldn't have been much more than five years old, ran up to Mr. Williams and he hoisted her up, smiling widely as he did so. "You've gotten so big since last week, Marina, I'd like you to meet Ms. Parsons"

The little girl gave me a small apprehensive wave, looking at me with slight interest before he put her back on the ground. She took his much larger hand dragging him along to the play area while I followed behind. The rest of the teachers and nurses who were there came up to me, introducing themselves to me with a shake of my hand.

I knew the three teachers, there was Mrs. Tiana Tamanaha who worked teaching kindergarten, Ms. Lilia Flower from the second grade, and Mr. Peter Vanders who I think taught fifth grade English. I found out that the two nurses one with short blonde hair and the other with long dyed purple hair were named, Samantha and Alexandra. They didn't like all the titles and said that I should just call them Sam and Alex.

Like Mr. Williams had said earlier, the kids were the biggest judge of if I'd make it there. I was starting to worry when none of the kids seemed to acknowledge me in the slightest. Luckily, the little girl I had met earlier took pity on me and had convinced the others that I was a perfectly good adult and would be perfect in assisting them with making their paper plate masks.

The rest of the morning was spent cutting out pieces of colored construction paper and taping or gluing it onto the paper plates to make various masks. The children were very well behaved, perhaps even more so than the kids in my class. A few of the children couldn't come out from their rooms because of their condition and the other kids made sure to make extra masks to give to them later. It was quite endearing. By the time it was all over, I didn't even feel tired. I guess the boatload of sugar I had eaten that morning helped with that but still, I thought I would feel it more. I guess I just liked spending time with the kids, listening to their sometimes-incoherent ramblings and making them laugh. I had a lot of fun.

We ran slightly overtime but Mr. Williams still dropped me off back at home with enough time for me to make it to work on time. It was Saturday which meant that I was working with Ben again today and he usually came in an hour before I did and left an hour before I left. I would usually end up closing up alone on Saturday nights.

The shift started rather normally as I told Ben about my morning. He liked kids well enough but he didn't want to spend all day with them. There were a few people milling around on this gloomy Saturday inside the store. Ben was manning the cash register while I had decided to reorganize the new arrivals for the fourth time.

It was a couple hours later that Carlisle walked into the store. He came up to me automatically and I smiled in his direction.

"Were you at the hospital today?" he asked, skipping his normal greeting.

I looked at him, confused. "Yeah, I was volunteering in the children's ward, why?"

He shook his head, his expression lightening significantly. His eyes were slightly less golden than they normally were but that must be just because of the lighting. "I just thought I saw you."

"Oh, you should have said hi" I said, smiling up at him. "My co-worker actually invited me, apparently a few teachers from work go there every Saturday"

"Ahh, so you're finally socializing with the rest of the staff"

"I know!" I exclaimed excitedly. "It went really well, I think the children work as excellent glue to help the adults bond"

"I told you that you'd be fine"

"No one likes a know it all" I teased.

We spent the rest of the hour talking about my morning and about his day at work. He told me a bit about the different patients, well about as much as he could tell me without breaking any confidentiality agreement.

I don't think I would ever get tired of talking to him.

* * *

 **I know, I know, this chapter doesn't have a ton about Carlisle in it but I liked writing this chapter plus this just sets up more opportunities for them to see each other in the future. Tell me what you think by reviewing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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The next Saturday morning found me once again at the hospital. I had driven myself this time, not needing the direction from Mr. Williams this time, plus it would be easier for me to go straight to the book store afterwards. I was early this time, only two other teachers milling around in the colorful room while the nurses went to gather the children.

The storm of wild children flooded into the room, a few a bit slower than the others but nonetheless excited. We had already laid everything out for them to start their projects. It was actually Ms. Flowers day to lead the activity and explain it to them while the rest of us sat nearby and helped when needed.

I was sitting in between a girl around the age of 11 or 12 who looked a little bored with the activity but still obliged in participating and a small boy with unruly black hair. The girl continued to get frustrated with her piece, starting over again and again. The boy patiently waited bouncing up and down slightly as he waited for the older girl to finish so they could begin decorating. Most of the other kids had already gone and crowded over by Mr. Williams by the decorating station but the little boy didn't want to abandon his older friend. After I had finished helping the girl secure her paper with just a dab of glue she and the boy ran off to the decorating station while I stayed behind to tidy up their left-over paper.

Mr. Vanders who had been sitting on the other side of the little boy slid over, sitting in the spot next to me.

"What is this even supposed to be?" he asked, holding up a colorful piece of paper. His voice was hushed slightly so the children couldn't clearly make out what he was saying.

"It's a paper fish" I whispered back as I garnered all of the little pieces of paper off the rug.

He threw me a confused expression, turning the bright object over in his hand. "I don't see it"

I shook my head, plucking the paper object out of his hand. "This is the head and these triangles are the body." I said pointing to each part before handing it back to him.

"I still don't see it"

"Well don't tell the kids that, they're coming back with handfuls of glitter" I said, tilting my head in the direction of the kids coming back. He gave me a slight smile before scooting back over to his original spot so that the kids could resume their positions.

The rest of the morning was spent helping the kids decorate or giving them encouraging nods as they splattered glue over parts of their fish. Then we had the duty of helping them clean their hands and get the sticky mess of glue and glitter off, which wasn't very hard to do with the right pair of scrubbing materials.

I was walking out with the group of teachers when I saw a familiar blonde headed man in the corner of my eye. Well, he had said to say hi. I told the group that I'd see them at work and wished them a lovely weekend before walking over to where Carlisle was looking down at a chart.

As I got closer, his eyes flicked up to mine and he smiled with recognition.

"Volunteering again?"

"Just finished actually, I was just about to head on over to the bookstore, just wanted to say hi" I tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"I actually just finished my shift, I was just about to head over there, my son actually placed another order" he said putting down the chart. "Let me drive you"

I shook my head, giving him a smile. "No, no, I have my car with me but thank you."

"Race you there?" he teased.

I gave him a look, laughing lightly. "I'd certainly win"

His eyes lit up with mischief. "I don't think that's a certainty, why don't we make a little wager"

"Are you being serious?"

"Completely" he said nodding.

"It's not even a fair challenge, you still have to change" I said gesturing to his outfit. He'd have to change, make it out to his car and then still drive out to the bookstore. I'd win by miles.

"Trust me it's fair"

I looked at him skeptically, "What are we wagering?"

"Just a favor, any favor that the other person needs"

"Or we can do it for bragging rights" I said smiling widely up at him. He looked down at me with an expression that screamed 'how about no' and I shook my head. "Fine, fine, we can do it your way" I can't believe I was agreeing to this.

I held out my hand, looking at him expectantly. His eyes flickered with shock for a moment before his startlingly cold hand shook mine. The minute his skin touched mine I felt an electric shock flow through my arm and my skin erupted in goosebumps. I knew that as I pulled my hand away that a slight blush had erupted on my cheeks and I looked down at the floor.

"I'll see you there" he said, looking at me with a smile that was much too confident.

I shook my head, rolling my eyes obviously before walking away. This would be a simple bet to win.

Even though I knew that there was no way I couldn't win, I still found myself rushing a little more than I normally would to my car. I didn't break any traffic laws while getting there, driving at the speed limit on the almost clear streets. I wanted to win but I didn't want to cause an accident.

I was almost there, only a block or so away and I didn't see Carlisle's car anywhere. As I pulled into the parking lot, I glanced around. Nope, his car was defiantly not there meaning I had won like I knew I would. That silly man, what was he thinking.

I opened the door with a slight smile, at least I would get to tell him I told you so. I didn't know what I'd do with the prize. I didn't exactly need a favor from him. I guess I could figure it out later when he arrived.

Shaking my head, I opened the front door and there standing in the flesh was Carlisle, talking to Ben over the counter. Ben looked at me with an amused expression before excusing himself to the back room.

Carlisle turned towards me, a smug expression on his beautiful face. "Well, what took you so long?"

I stood with my mouth open, confused at how he was here. "How? I had such a head start"

Carlisle looked at me, arching one of his eyebrows. "I took the shortcut on 4th, it's much faster"

I shook my head incredulously, "But your car.." I trailed off, gesturing outside.

"Parked down the street, I just wanted to see your reaction" he said, shrugging. I shook my head. I couldn't believe it. He had won.

"Fine, what favor do I owe you?" I said walking further into the room and behind the counter, putting my bag down.

"I haven't actually decided yet"

"You can't just hold this over my head" I said, giving him a look.

"Well, we never agreed I couldn't"

I shook my head with a laugh. "You're going to hold this over my head, aren't you?" I gave him a knowing look, leaning on the counter.

"Definitely" he said, laughter sparkling in those golden eyes of his.

"And here I thought you were kind."

* * *

 **Hey I wrote a chapter! I struggle with taking criticism that isn't constructive criticism and it's just something that I kind of have to learn to deal with. Grammatical and spelling critiques I can totally take because I know I need to work on it. However, there are times that I can feel myself get defensive about something that someone points out about my characters because I just want to scream 'ThEy aRE PuRpoSEfulLy wRiTTen tHiS WaY" but I can't do that. I really do want all of your honest opinions on the work because I make mistakes all the time and I appreciate any feedback. So please read the chapter and tell me what you think! Review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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"But do you think it's interesting enough?" I questioned, looking down the rows of paper that were scattered across the floor.

Carlisle was sitting on the other side, looking at me with a slight tilt of his head. I think he thought I was crazy. At this point I wouldn't blame him. It was quite possible that I was going insane.

It was a weekday, no one would be coming into the bookstore anyway and I needed opinions on my lesson. Carlisle had kindly obliged, subjecting himself for my ramblings for over three hours already. He had listened to my entire plan for Friday's lesson over six times now and each time I cut something out and added a different piece. He let me go on, answering my questions with patience as I practically pulled all of my hair out with worry.

"It's great, Coraline" he assured but I chewed on my nail, my brain firing in all different directions.

"But just give me your honest opinion, think back to when you were eight years old, would this have kept your attention while still being informative?"

"It's been quite a long time since I was eight"

I looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please just pretend"

He shook his head, looking at me with smile. "Then yes, when I was eight years old, I would have been completely and absolutely enraptured during your lesson."

I nodded, lost in thought before looking back up at him. "But would you have learned anything?"

Carlisle looked at me for a moment, "Okay, that's enough." He said before beginning to gather up all of the piece of paper that I had so elegantly thrown across the floor in a mad panic of explanation.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, my voice rising higher. "These all have specific places!" I tried to grab the paper from his arms but he dodged my flailing limbs easily, sliding to the side.

"You need to go home and get some rest, you're too far into mental panic and I don't think practicing anymore will do you any good." He said, finishing gathering up all of the papers before putting them neatly back into their original binder.

"It's not even closing time yet"

"The store supposedly closed an hour ago" he said, grabbing my bag that was strewn on the counter and putting the binder in.

My eyes widened and I checked my watch. Damn, he was right. More time than I thought had passed and the store was indeed supposed to close an hour ago. I suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over me as I scrambled to my feet. The good doctor was holding my bag in his outstretched hand to me.

"I'm so sorry," I looked down at the ground as I took the bag from him, swinging it over my shoulder. "I didn't realize how late it was and you have a family, I'm so sorry," I shook my head. "I'm so sorry" I repeated again.

"Don't be sorry, I knew how late it was and I wanted to help you" I looked up at him. I was surprised by the startling amount of honesty his eyes held. A light blush crawled its way up to the tips of my ears.

"Thank you, you don't know how much I appreciate you for all of this"

He said nothing, simply turning off the rest of the lights before we both left the store, a soft smile on his face. I locked the door behind us and we parted ways to our separate cars.

"You will tell me how it goes, won't you?" he called out just as I opened my door.

I smiled, "Of course."

* * *

I felt like I was a bundle of nerves just waiting to explode at any moment as I stared at the soon to be filled desks. The students would be coming in soon. Well, they'd be coming in an hour from now.

"You're going to do fine" said Kathy, taking a sip of her coffee. She would be sitting in her desk today for the entire day. She was putting her whole and complete class of students in my charge and I couldn't have been more terrified.

It was nearly the end of May meaning the hiring committee had already completed their meeting to discuss who they were going to hire but Kathy had simply come back from that meeting saying that two of their members were absent from the meeting and that they were still waiting on those two to submit their votes. It had been three weeks and still no word. I didn't know if no news was good news or if no news meant bad news. The pessimistic side of me kept insisting that it was the latter but I tried to steer myself away from that. I needed a clear head for today.

The kids slowly trickled in as the morning went on and I had calmed myself enough to stop pacing back and forth. I needed to appear calm; kids can smell fear. They all had a nervous buzz about them today, I think from both excitement and anticipation for the long summer ahead of them.

I launched immediately into my lesson as the bell rung. I was actually surprised that only two kids were absent. Usually there were more kids who skipped out on the last day, either to go camping with their parents or just to start their break a little early. However, in this case, the added numbers only added to my nervousness. I was still thanking my stars that the last day was only a half day and that we ended at lunch hour.

I was very surprised that I hadn't started panicking in the middle of my lesson. All of my past lessons had been carefully monitored and approved by Kathy but now she was leaning back in her chair, watching as I passed out the worksheets I had made. They completed them obligingly, talking to each other with excitement about their summer plans. I was actually quite proud of them.

The lesson was a combination of worksheets and games which went over an overall review of the basic concepts that they had learned over the course of the year. They played along nicely, a few of them even getting really into it to win the small prize bags that I had put together the night before.

Overall, I was very surprised at how quickly the day passed. We got through my first activity and then my second and by the time the end rolled around, I was just wrapping up with my last review. Then, I wished the kids a happy summer before they were gone, out the door with wide smiles and bounding leaps.

As soon as the last kid skipped out of the room, I let out a loud sigh, smiling as I straightened out the small pile of worksheets in my hands. I put the stack of papers down, looking at Kathy over my shoulder. She was still sitting in her chair, looking at me as if she was waiting for me to ask what she knew I would.

Of course, it wouldn't do to disappoint. "And how did I do?"

Kathy quirked an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you like to know"

She got up, stretching her arms out as she did so. I turned towards her.

"Oh, come on, just tell me I did well" I said happily. I had Carlisle to thank for how well today went. The kids were good. Well behaved and I actually felt like they learned something.

"You did well, but I'm afraid I have news" she started looking at me with a slight smile before her face fell. I quirked my head to the side, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't say anything, the smile on my face fell and I could feel myself grow cold.

"What is it?"

She shook her head, looking down at the desk as she tapped on a stack of papers. "I don't know how to tell you this, you've been…"

I thought I could feel my heart break as I finished the thought. "Fired"

"Dismissed, actually" she corrected. I shook my head, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was my worst fear. I had thought…I had thought that maybe, somehow, I'd get it. "But of course, I couldn't do much in terms of that, I knew I had to let you go at some point."

I managed to get out a weak question. "What?"

A glint of mischief tinkled in her eyes. "Of course, if it were up to me you'd be working as my assistant until I retire but then they had to go and give you a whole class"

"They what? But you said-"

"That you'd been dismissed? Yes, that's true, you've been dismissed as my assistant teacher, I'm afraid they've actually assigned you to a second-grade class." As the impossible words came out of her lips, I couldn't help but stare at her, my eyes wide with shock. I didn't have words. "Well, I should congratulate you then" added Kathy, coming around the desk.

She reached out, patting my shoulder lightly, like one would congratulate a child as I stared at her in shock. I had got the job. I had really gotten the job. As she moved backwards, I ambushed her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness" I repeated, swinging the shorter woman from side to side. She reeled back slightly but didn't push me off, even patting my back with one hand as I fully processed her words.

I pulled back, releasing her from my hold with a joyous laugh. "When did you find out?"

She shrugged. "A week or so ago"

"A week!" I exclaimed, looking at her incredulously. "You've waited an entire week to tell me."

"I didn't want it to distract you" she said, smirking at me.

"Oh, you wonderfully evil woman" I said, my eyes crinkling with laughter. I jumped with up, my short heels clacking against the floor and I pulled her in for another hug, laughing merrily. Kathy rolled her eyes pushing me off with a slight grin.

"Go, go, share in your excitement" she said, pushing me towards the door. I let out another laugh, I don't think I would ever stop now.

I breathed out, feeling light as air. "Thank you" I turned towards her, looking at her with sincerity. "Really Kathy, thank you for everything, I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"I know" she said. She gave me a small smile before inclining her head towards the door. "Now go, here's your bag, go share your news with your loved ones" I took my bag from her giving her one more excited smile before practically skipping through the halls, more excited than my students.

I had to tell people, everyone really. My parent's faces flashed through my mind. They would be happy at the news, they knew I had been trying so hard for this and I had wanted it for so long now. Another face came to mind too. Carlisle would be ecstatic for me. He had heard me moan and groan about finding out the results for months now and I had actually done it. Well, he had helped so much and my god, I wanted to tell him. I had to tell him.

As I climbed into the driver's seat of the car, I was firmly decided that I needed to see Carlisle immediately, to tell him what's happened. The amazing and wonderful thing that's happened. As soon as the thought came into my mind, I couldn't think of anything else I would rather do. I just knew that I needed to tell him.

I drove quickly to the hospital; my brain was on an absolute high of happiness and I felt like I could never come down. Is this being on drugs was like? No wonder people do them. I was practically jumping up and down with joy, my face being permanently locked in a smile as I walked through the parking lot, making my way into the main lobby.

I spotted him immediately, there was a young woman next to him but I was blinded by happiness and couldn't see anyone else. His eyes met mine as I drew closer and I saw his eyes light up. His head turned up, tilting to the side with some curiosity as I got closer. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off as I practically leaped into his arms, my arms wrapping around his neck. I felt him tense briefly at the surprise before his cold arms came to wrap my waist.

"I got the job!" I exclaimed brightly.

His arms tightened around me as he lifted me off the ground twirling me with happiness. I could do nothing but laugh as he whirled me around in his arms. He let me down after a moment and my hands fell from around his neck to rest on his shoulder as he looked down at me. His hands were still resting on my hips.

"I knew you would" he said, his eyes sparkling in the fluorescent hospital lights. I didn't think I could feel more on the moon than I did in that exact moment. I don't know what possessed me to do that. All that I knew was that I was unbelievably happy at this exact moment and I couldn't think of anything better to do. Everything was just so perfect.

Only when I glanced to the side slightly did I notice a girl standing there, looking down at the floor with an amused expression playing on her delicate features. I didn't know how I had missed her earlier. I dark blush spread across my cheeks as I realized that I was still entangled with the good doctor in front of me and I released him quickly, taking a step away as I straightened myself out. I looked down at the floor in embarrassment, I hoped I didn't interrupt a talk with his patient.

"I hope you'll excuse my behavior, I hope I didn't interrupt an important discussion, I'm not normally so disruptive, I'm so sorry" I apologized, looking at the girl. Her face lit up in a smile, a tinkling laugh spilling from her lips.

Carlisle's eyes turned from me to the girl I was speaking to before inclining his head towards the girl. "This is actually my daughter Alice" Oh, I could have just died in that moment. My face must have gone a whole shade darker as I stared, wide eyed, at the black-haired girl in front of me.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice" I managed to croak out.

She smiled sweetly. "You must be Coraline, I feel like I already know so much about you, Carlisle speaks of you often." If my face could have gotten any redder in that moment it would have. Carlisle had told his children about me? Oh goodness. "And don't worry about it, I was just stopping by"

"Well, it's still lovely to meet you, your father speaks fondly of all of his children" I said honestly, glancing at Carlisle next to me. Her eyes sparked with something I couldn't read.

"Do you like parties?" She asked me suddenly, throwing me off. "I'm throwing a bit of a party the night of graduation, you should come"

Oh, I certainly wasn't expecting this. I looked at Carlisle for guidance but he was giving Alice a look that I couldn't interpret clearly. Maybe he didn't want me to go.

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Nonsense, I insist you have to come," she interrupted. "I can already tell you'll get along swimmingly with everyone and Carlisle would certainly like to have you there, isn't that right?" she asked, the question directed to Carlisle.

Carlisle didn't answer her, turning to me instead. "I'd love for you to come but you don't have to, don't let Alice pressure you"

I looked at Alice's expectant face, I couldn't say no. I had only just met her and I didn't think had given her a very good first impression by ambushing her father out of nowhere like a weirdo.

"Of course, I'll go" I said, giving her a smile.

"Wonderful" she exclaimed happily. "Give me your number so I can message you the details" she implored, very quickly pulling out her phone and handing it over to me.

I typed my number into her phone before passing the phone back to her, feeling the slightest brush of her fingers as I did so. Strange. Her hands were cold too, like Carlisle's.

"Well, it was great meeting you, Coraline, I know we'll see each other soon." She said, turning to her Carlisle and giving him a grin before gracefully turning her heel and walking out.

I turned to Carlisle as the doors closed behind her, "So, that was your daughter?"

"That's Alice" he said, a small smile playing on his features.

I couldn't understand why but I felt like there was something so much deeper going on beneath the surface of everything. I just couldn't exactly place my finger on what it was but everything was just so wonderful now. Thoughts of all of that could wait.

Yes, I thought, staring up at Carlisle with a small smile. All of that could certainly wait.

* * *

 **I actually increased the pace a bit in this chapter. I've held off on quickening their relationship for a while now because I really wanted to build that foundation and now, I feel about ready to kick things off. Of course, I will continue to pace each chapter, not moving forward at a ridiculous pace but things will progress further from now on. I can't promise that every chapter will be a sudden confession of undying love and devotion but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless. Please tell me your thoughts! Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

* * *

After I left the hospital, I immediately called my parents, telling them the good news. I think my mom was happier than I was because I could practically hear my dad cringing at the entire octave my mom's voice spiked up to. She screamed in excitement while my dad gave me a hearty congratulation and started jumping up and down with my mom. I honestly didn't expect them to be so excited but was glad for their support nonetheless.

Although students had been let out for the summer, teachers still had a few days more of work to do and staff meetings to attend before they were released into the wild as well. Being as I had only just received the news of being appointed into a real position there was a certain number of steps that needed to be taken. I had already obtained my teaching license during the previous summer after I completed my first round of student teaching with my previous mentor before Kathy.

On the first day, I almost immediately acquisitioned by the hiring committee as they explained the steps on furthering my education which would in turn potentially increase my pay and class quality. I took notes diligently, listening as they went over my contract and I signed across the dotted line. There were, of course, training programs that the school required teachers to take, some of them were over the summer or scattered across various breaks depending on the topic. Those classes were really for everyone's benefit to ensure that they were giving their teachers the proper tools to be in a classroom and I didn't mind subjecting myself to them.

My first training program would begin in around the second-week of June for a three-week course in Colorado. I lit up at the sound of the place. This meant that I would be able to visit my parents over the summer; it would be nice to see them again. The meeting ended with them wishing me well in my new position as Kathy walked me to the classroom I would be occupying.

It was Mrs. Jenson's room, the second-grade teacher that I saw from time to time but this had been her last year. We had even had a retirement celebration for her at one of the staff meetings back in April and she seemed glad to go, happy to move to Oregon to be with her grandkids. I looked around the classroom, taking it all in before Kathy handed me a set of keys, warning me that if I lost more than two pairs then I'd owe the school quite a bit of money.

The second and last day was just a day of meetings, each department head giving an overall summary of events while the rest of us made occasional comments and nodded along. At the staff meeting many of the teachers that I knew came up to me, giving me their congratulations. It truly meant a lot to me. I was also very grateful to Mr. Williams for introducing me to more of the staff through the volunteering, it seemed that people were much more open to me now.

We ended shortly after the last staff meeting, the principal releasing everyone home a tad bit earlier than expected. Overall the two days had exhausted me. I was feeling both mentally and physically drained. Usually, I wouldn't have to go into school for more than one day in a row and would work at the book store almost every other day, including today.

I arrived at the bookstore within a reasonable time, getting there an hour before my shift actually started. I was surprised to see Joe there, usually Cindy worked the morning shift on Tuesdays.

"You're early, Cora" he exclaimed as I walked through the door, smiling at him.

"The principal let us all out a bit early, figured that I'd come in and start sorting a few of the shelves" I said, shrugging off my bag behind the register.

"Oh, yeah and how is teaching going?"

I paused before answering. "It's going good, I actually have to talk to you about something"

I hadn't actually told Joe that I had gotten the job which was probably important because he co-owned the store with my uncle. My uncle was more of a silent partner, well an absent partner really. He was busy traveling, going off to location after location. I suppose now I wouldn't be working at the book store for much longer. Carlisle's face flashed through my mind for a second before I shook my head, refocusing on the conversation I would need to have.

Joe inclined his head, waiting for me to go on.

"I actually got the full-time position at the school, I'll be teaching a second-grade class in the fall."

He nodded in understanding, seeming to get where I was going with the conversation. "So, you'll be leaving this old shop, when do you need to go?"

I thought about it for a second. I would have to go to the training program in June which took up half of the month and a week into the next one. It wouldn't exactly be fair to expect them to hold my position for the time I'll be gone and then show back up and then have to leave again. I guess my time at the bookstore would be ending sooner than I had originally thought.

"Well, I have to be in Colorado by the 13th and so I suppose my last day can be the 12th, I think that's last Tuesday, I'll probably book a flight for later that night."

"We will miss you here, Coraline"

"And I'm really going to miss this place, it's been the spot of many interesting developments in my life" I said, smiling as my mind flipped through images of both Ben and Carlisle. I was grateful to have met both of them at this place, it was truly a wonder.

"I bet," he said, giving me a bit of a knowing glance. "I heard you've been hanging around the Cullen doctor an awful lot."

"I have, he's a real nice person" My cheeks turned a light shade of pink as I thought about Carlisle. I couldn't believe that last Friday, I had been so bold as to hug him and he hugged me too. I could still remember the feeling of his arms around me, pulling me close as he spun me around. "Anyway," I started, changing the subject. "I should get to sorting those shelves"

He let me go and I was glad for it. My mind just all of sudden couldn't get the image of Carlisle out of my thoughts. I was still having dreams about him but I tried to forget about them, dismissing them almost immediately after I woke up. They seemed to get more real each time and I seemed to be inching closer to him in each of these dreams. I had to admit that I thought about him an awful lot more than I did others. Certainly, I'd never had so many musings on any of my other friends.

The hour passed by rather normally, Joe occasionally messing up the order that I put the books in. At the end of his shift, Joe came up to me.

"Well, I'll be off now, but I wanted to say congratulations on the job," he held out a book. "I thought I'd give you this, be careful, Coraline" I smiled at him, taking the book gratefully from his outstretched hand.

"Thank you, Joe" He nodded to me before turning to leave the store.

I looked down at the book, running my hand down the soft leather exterior. It didn't have a title and it looked like a rather vintage book. I opened the cover. Yes, I was correct, the book was an old copy of what looked to be a book on the supernatural. I smiled, it was just like Joe to give me something like this. Perhaps, I'd actually read this one. I hadn't read many of the books in the store before, the supernatural not being one of my areas of interest but I didn't want to be rude and it was clearly an expensive guilt, probably something from Joe's private collection. I really did appreciate the gift; he hadn't needed to get me anything.

I flipped through the pages, walking towards the counter to put the book away when the entrance bell sounded.

"Oh, Carlisle" I said, looking up at him. I put the book down on the counter while I grabbed my bag.

"What do you have there?"

"It was a gift from Joe, for my new job and to say goodbye" I said, putting the book in my bag.

"Goodbye?" he asked, the confusion written on his face.

"Well, I've gotten a full-time job now and it's my first-year teaching by myself, I think I'll need more time to put together everything, I'm going to be ending my job here soon"

"You should take a vacation soon then, to celebrate it I mean, maybe soon actually" he suggested and I was surprised by the amount of seriousness in his eyes.

"Trying to get rid of me?" I teased. "Actually, I have a training program in Colorado, I think I'm going to leave on the 12th, it'll also be my last day here as well"

"Oh," he looked surprised. "How convenient"

I gave him a questioning look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's nothing" He shook his head, his eyes looking a bit relieved. I didn't understand. Did he want me to be out of town? No, that couldn't be it. Maybe he just meant that it was convenient that my leaving day and my last bookstore day was on the same night. Whatever it was, I let it drift out of my thoughts. There was no use dwelling on such silly things.

* * *

 **I wrote another chapter! Tell me what you think about it and what you think should happen next!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

* * *

I couldn't ignore the small bit of anxiety welling up in me as I looked in the mirror. I had changed my dress about three different times in the past thirty-minutes. I had finally settled on my dark-green knee-length dress; it was modest while still being flattering. Today was the day of graduation and I would be attending the ceremony for Ben's sake but later on I would be going to the Cullen's party at their home. Ben said that he would also be going but I still couldn't help but feel nervous.

Just as Alice promised, she did text me the location of the party and the time that it would start. I still couldn't believe that I was actually going to go to Carlisle's house with all of his children there. _With all of his children there_. Carlisle had insisted on going to the graduation ceremony with me, saying that it was saving the environment by him driving the both of us. I wanted to drive by myself, at least if I felt too anxious I would have my own escape route but when Carlisle asked me to go with him, I couldn't say no.

So now, here I was changing in and out of dresses while I waited for Carlisle to pull up at my door. Right, Carlisle is going to be pulling up any minute now and I still hadn't done my hair. I rushed into the bathroom, pulling my hair into the nicest bun that I could manage that looked like I hadn't done it in only five-minutes.

This wasn't a big deal. It was only a ceremony and then a party; it would be fine. It would be completely fine. Of course, this would be the first time that Carlisle and I would be spending a lot of time together outside of the bookstore or the hospital and it would be at his home. Carlisle and I were friends and so it would be only natural that I would meet his children eventually. I just thought it would be way down the line, way way down the line.

I was gathering all of my things into my purse when I heard a knock at my door. I smoothed out my dress before heading to the door, opening it with a nervous smile. Carlisle was dressed in soft-blue dress shirt with a grey jacket and a grey scarf; he seemed to have a fondness for scarves.

"You look wonderful" He said, looking down at me with his beautiful eyes. I felt my cheeks darken with the compliment.

"Thank you, you look very nice as well" I said as I closed the door behind me, locking it before we made our way to the car. Carlisle opened my door for me before getting into his side of the car. "Are your kids nervous for today?"

"For graduation? No, I don't think they are" he said smiling to himself.

"Really? Ben's really nervous, he kept texting me last night, telling me that I he had no idea where his life was going after this"

"He's going to college, isn't he?" asked Carlisle as we were down the road and towards the high school.

I nodded. "Yeah, he leaves in August, I'm going to miss him" I really would. Tomorrow would be my last day at the bookshop and Ben wouldn't be working with me. It would be a sad day. I couldn't imagine it, not spending my Saturdays' talking with Ben, organizing shelves and sorting through the lists of new orders. Lately, he really had become one of my closest friends.

We drove the rest of the way with light conversation about this or that. After a little while Carlisle finally pulled up to the school, parking in one of the spaces. There seemed to be a lot of different people here today, parents, siblings, friends, all of them here to see the ceremony.

After getting out of the car, I looked at Carlisle. He really was wonderful, truly one of my closest friends. Of course, he was rather handsome, not that I noticed the many looks he was getting from the people around us as we walked to the gym. It didn't bother me. It really didn't. People were always going to stare at him and it wasn't something that I could stop nor did it bother me.

I saw another lady take a second glance at Carlisle and automatically my arm went to hook into his. Okay, maybe it bothered me a little. Carlisle didn't say anything, just looked at me with a slight tilt of his head and continued walking with our arms interlocked.

"We should get into the gym before all the good seats are taken" I said, looking straight ahead of us, willing my face not to blush. I was only doing this because it wasn't the right time for people to be looking at Carlisle, it was a graduation after all, nothing more.

We found seats just behind the rows of graduates and Alice waved to us when she saw us and I responded with a shy smile and a small wave. I saw Ben a few seats in front of us but he was too busy talking to his friends to notice. There were a lot of parents here, many of whom I knew. Chief Swan was here, for his daughter Isabella, who Carlisle had also told me was dating his son Edward.

The ceremony went rather normally. Carlisle and I clapped as they called each person's name, clapping a little more when they called the names of his kids or Ben. It was my first time seeing most of his kids besides Alice. They were all wonderfully beautiful, just like Carlisle and they all had the same golden eyes. It was almost hard to believe that they couldn't be at least a little related. The speech was very good and everyone clapped good naturedly before everyone was released outside to meet with their families and friends.

I saw Ben in one direction and Carlisle's kids in another, talking amongst each other. They looked so real and it gave me so much anxiety to think about talking to them that I felt like I couldn't breathe all of a sudden. I looked around in a slight internal panic because I could almost hear Carlisle asking me if I was ready to meet them.

"I'm going to go see Ben" I said suddenly, slipping my arm out from Carlisle's.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to go see the kids"

We separated in the different directions and I walked over to Ben. He saw me coming and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Congratulations, Ben" I said with a wide smile as he released me. "You're all grown up now"

"You can't call me a baby anymore"

"Well, I can always call you that, I'm still older than you" I teased. I grabbed the envelope from my purse. "Here, I got this for you, I used a lot of school supplies to make the card" I said with a slight laugh.

"Well, thank you for coming and you brought a date" he said, glancing from me to Carlisle, who was on the other side of the parking lot with his kids.

"He's not my date, we were both just coming here and then we're both going to be going to the party, clean and simple"

Ben gave me a skeptical glance, "So that's why you two were holding hands?"

"We were not holding hands!" I whispered to him, hoping no one else could hear me.

Ben rolled his eyes, "Holding arms, big difference"

"Oh shush, I've told you over fifty-times that nothing is going on" I said, shaking my head.

"Fine, fine," he said, holding his hands up in mock defeat. I glanced at Carlisle from the corner of my eye. He was still talking to his kids along with the Chief's daughter Bella.

"So, how are your parents?" I said, looking away from Carlisle and trying to make conversation. I really wasn't ready to go back over there and meet them quite yet.

"You're still nervous about meeting his kids, aren't you?" he said giving me a knowing look.

I nodded, "Absolutely terrified"

"It's going to be fine, Coraline, just go over there and get it over with"

"They're just really intimidating and I've only met one of them bef-"

"Doctor Cullen!" exclaimed Ben, as the good doctor approached from behind me. I was glad when Ben cut me off as Carlisle was approaching; I didn't want him to hear my worries. I sent Ben a grateful look before turning to see Carlisle.

"Congratulations, Ben" said Carlisle, shaking hands with Ben. "I'm sure you'll do great things."

"Thank you, Doctor Cullen, well, I'll just leave you two, I think my parents want to take pictures, I'll see you guys at the party" he said, giving me an encouraging look before walking away.

"Well, come on, why don't we go to the house? I'll give you the tour before everyone else shows up soon"

I almost audibly breathed a sigh of relief. I would be spared from meeting his kids until later if we left now. "That would be great" I said giving him a smile.

I looked out the window as we drove, watching the trees pass by. I had never really driven out towards this side of town; my grandmother's house being located on the other side meant that I stayed on that side. I wasn't really the drive around for fun type of person. I was, however, very interested in where we were going. I had never seen Carlisle's house. I wondered what it would look like. I had no doubt that there would be a lot of books there, just from the type of personality Carlisle had. Other than that, I really couldn't guess on what the house would look like.

As we pulled up, I could feel my eyes widen in surprise. Wow, the house was absolutely beautiful and gigantic. It looked so much different than any of the other houses in Forks, this was such an open and bright house with so many windows.

Carlisle held open the door for me as we entered the house.

"Wow, it's beautiful" I said, turning to him. The house was already decorated with everything for the party, the lights hanging from the walls, the decorations dangling from the ceiling. It was all so wonderful.

"Was it what you were expecting?"

"I didn't know what to expect from the mysterious Carlisle Cullen, not really at least" I said, turning around to get a 360 view of the living area.

"Well, come on, I'll show you around the house"

As we walked through each room, I couldn't help but marvel at all of the little things in each room. It seemed to be modern house, with clean finishes and straight cut furniture. There were three completely separate floors to the house that somehow melded together in a cohesive and clean way, the windows allowing a wonderful view of the nature outside to be seen. Carlisle walked me through the various rooms, explaining little nuances about certain rooms or objects that we passed. The framed graduation caps threw me a little but there were all sorts of decoration types and I wasn't going to question it.

Carlisle held open the door to the balcony, allowing me to walk through first. The clouds were hanging over the sun but there was a certain degree of light still being let in. It was just on the verge of setting, the sky darkening by the minute as we walked further out onto the balcony.

"What did you think of the house?"

I turned around, leaning my back against the railing. "It's really beautiful"

We talked for a few minutes, both of us leaning over the railing, looking out into the trees as the sun came down. It was so peaceful out there. I looked at Carlisle from the side, he was talking animatedly about a patient at the hospital, his eyes twinkling with amusement. I could feel my cheeks light up pink as I noticed the curve of his jaw and the way he moved his hands as he continued the story. He was just so him and I couldn't get tear my eyes away.

I was broken out of my thoughts as I heard the sound of cars approaching. Oh god, those were the kids. I could already feel my heart starting to speed up from nervousness. I was good with children, I was a teacher for goodness sake but those were small children who didn't know how complex math. These were Carlisle's kids who looked dazzling and were very very intimidating to think about, let alone actually meeting them.

"Those must be the kids, come on I'll introduce you" I gave him a slightly forced smile and nodded, following behind him as we walked back inside. I could already feel the nervousness bubbling once again to the surface and focused on keeping my breathing steady. God, since when did I become such a nervous wreck. They could hate me which would completely ruin my friendship with Carlisle because who would be friends with someone that their kids hate.

My spiral of thoughts was interrupted as Carlisle stopped walking, looking down at me with soft eyes as I controlled the nervousness on my face.

"It'll be fine, Coraline" He grabbed my hand and I immediately felt goosebumps erupt as a new type of nervousness found its way into my stomach. He smiled down at me and tilted his head to the side before we made our way down stairs, his hand still holding mine as we went down.

I relished in the tingling feeling that was flowing through me as I gazed at our hands. His was so cold against my warm skin and yet I still didn't want to let it go. However, I also didn't want his kids to get the wrong idea so I slipped my hand out of his just as we rounded the corner and came face to face with all of his children and Isabella, the chief's daughter.

Before I knew what hit me, Alice was pulling me into her surprisingly strong arms and crushing me against her. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Congratulations on graduation" I managed to squeak out.

She let me go after one more squeeze before turning to everyone else. "Guys this is Coraline Parsons" she said introducing me as if I were her guest and not Carlisle's. That gesture made me feel slightly less like an outsider, at least one of the kids already liked me. "This is Jasper" she said, bouncing to the side of a man with slightly curly blonde hair.

A bulking guy with black hair was the second to approach me. "I'm Emmet and that's Rosalie" he said gesturing to the beautiful blonde girl next to him before he shook my hand vigorously. Rosalie gave me a tight-lipped smile but didn't say anything.

"That must make you Edward then" I said looking at the tall boy standing next to a face I knew vaguely. "And you're Bella Swan, the chief's daughter, I think I've met you briefly when we were both younger." Bella gave me a warm hello and Edward did the same, tilting his head in my direction slightly before I shook both of their hand's drawing slight comfort from the warmth of Bella's hand, only the Cullen's skin seemed to be perpetually cold. Maybe they just needed to wear more clothes to regulate their body heat, I thought, looking at the pale family with a smile.

I heard Edward chuckle slightly into Bella's hair, waving it off as nothing.

"Well, it's so nice to finally meet all of you, I've heard so many wonderful things from Carlisle about you all" I said, turning slightly to Carlisle when I said his name, giving him a slight smile.

I expected someone to say something, anything in response but they were all just looking at me and my cheeks turned a slight pink under their gaze's. I didn't know what to do or say anymore, it was like I was being put before the judge and jury and they were just analyzing me internally. Luckily, the sound of approaching cars drew everyone's attention and Alice was soon ordering everyone into various places around the house to prepare anything last minute that needed to be done.

They all moved rather quickly, Edward pulling Bella upstairs and Rosalie with Emmet going into the other room to check that all the decorations were still immaculate. Carlisle was ordered to finish plugging in the outside lights and he gave me a withering look before leaving me with Alice. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help but she shook her head, pulling me upstairs with her.

"What are we doing?" I asked her, curiously looking around the room. I hadn't seen inside any of their rooms during the tour earlier for the sake of privacy but it was themed similarly to the rest of the house, maybe with a bit of Alice's flair added to it.

"Well, we have to get you ready for the party of course" she said, looking at me as if it were common sense. "I actually do like your dress so you can keep that but your hair just has to change"

"My hair?" I asked, bringing my hand up to the tight bun that was still firmly in place.

"It's much too..." she paused. "Confining, but don't worry, this is an easy fix, just wait here while I go let the first round of guest in." she said gesturing to the seat in front of the mirror.

Obediently, I sat in front of the mirror, taking in my reflection. My brown hair was still tightly wound in the bun, a few hairs were out of place from the wind outside but overall, I didn't see anything wrong with it. I heard the door begin to open and I turned automatically, thinking it was Alice when I was met with Bella standing in the doorway.

"Oh, I thought you were Alice" I said, turning fully.

"Sorry, I just came for my jacket, I think I left in here earlier" she said gesturing to the jacket that was slung over a chair.

"Go right ahead" I said, giving her a smile. "Congratulations on graduating by the way, it's a big milestone"

She walked to the other side of the room, sliding on the jacket over her small frame while she nodded at me. "Yeah, I'm really glad to be done with all of that, oh but I heard that you just got a full-time position at the elementary school?"

"Yeah, I did! I just love kids and am beyond excited to start, but um, where'd you hear that by the way?" I asked, my head tilting to the side automatically. I didn't want to seem too eager to find out.

"Oh, well Carlisle talks about you often" she said casually, looking at me with an amused expression and I had the distinct impression that I was missing something.

"Really?" I tried to look like the information wasn't surprising to me. I hadn't actually thought that he would talk about me to anyone let alone his children or their girlfriend's, obviously I was very wrong.

"Yeah, you're really important to Carlisle" she said as if it was completely obvious.

I nodded, "He's a really important friend to me, too"

Her face flickered with confusion for a moment. "Oh right, friends" she said, almost to herself. "Well, I'm glad he has you…as a friend" There seemed to be almost hesitation as she said the words.

I looked at her, confusion written on my face. "Is there something that I should know?"

She shook her head, "You know I should really get back to the party" she said inching her way over to the door. That really sparked my interest. Her avoidance of the subject meant that there really was something that I was missing.

"Wait, is there really something that I'm missing here?" I asked, getting up from my seat.

She looked from me to the door. "I really don't think it's my place to say anything"

"Please, Bella"

She opened her mouth to respond when Alice burst back into the room. "Bella, what are you doing in here? You should be out there with everyone else enjoying the party" she said shooing her out the door. Bella gave me a grin before closing the door behind her and I sat down with a huff. I guess I wouldn't find out, I'm sure it wasn't that important and if it was then I'd find out later. It couldn't be that important. I'm sure it wasn't.

Alice made her way over to me, looking at my hair critically. "I think all I need to do is take a few pins out," she said taking out a few of the bobby pins holding my hair in place and throwing them onto the table. I sat patiently, letting her do whatever it was that she was doing.

"And there we go" she said, removing the last pin.

My hair came down in a sort of falling tower way, neither gently nor gracefully as it became a loose mess. Alice grabbed a brush from the table pulling through my hair in firm strokes.

"You do have nice hair" she commented, pulling through a knot with a tiny bit of force. "Nice but knotted" she added.

"I keep it in a bun most of the time, I work with children that sometimes have lice, it's easier to manage if I just keep it back" I said smiling slightly as she worked her way through a few of the knots in my hair.

"Well, you're not a school tonight, so I expect it to be kept down for the rest of the night" she said teasingly, the amusement sparkling in her golden eyes.

"Yes, ma'am"

Alice finished brushing my hair, pulling my hair towards the front to frame my face and covering my shoulders with a curtain of hair.

"All done" she said, patting the top of my head as I stood up, looking at myself in the mirror. It wasn't like I kept my hair up all the time but I had to admit that I did like having my hair down.

We made our way back down to the main area of the party and Alice quickly took off in one direction, I think she was going off to find Jasper, I couldn't be sure. I turned around, glancing at the crowd, looking for Carlisle. I didn't exactly know many of the people here. After a few minutes of looking around, Carlisle found me, coming up from behind.

"I see Alice got to your hair" he said, smiling down at me. "It looks nice"

Carlisle had seen my hair down before at the bookstore but hearing his compliment now, brought a slight tinge of color to my cheeks as I looked at his amazing eyes. The moment was interrupted as I heard my stomach growl but figured that he wouldn't be able to hear it over the loud music that was playing.

He looked at me with slight concern on his face. "Are you hungry?"

My face turned a darker shade of red and I nodded slightly. I had been too nervous to eat earlier, focusing on planning my outfit. I also don't care how shallow that sounds, I was nervous and I don't have to explain myself.

"Well, come on, Alice catered" he said, leading me towards the kitchen that I had seen on the tour earlier. I let him go first as we navigated our way through the crowd of teenagers. Man, had they arrived fast in the time if had taken Alice to do my hair.

The kitchen was laid out with several trays of food, some of them being served while a few remained behind. Carlisle handed me plate and I picked a few items off of the trays as he leaned against the counter.

"You aren't hungry?" I asked him just before I took a bite of what I think was a crab cake.

"I ate earlier" he said simply.

"You're missing out, these are great" I said honestly. I really needed to get the number of the place Alice catered from, those crab cakes were great. I stuffed more food into my mouth before placing the plate on the counter next to me, looking at Carlisle. "Sorry, I was really hungry, I don't have the best manners when I'm hungry"

He shook his head, an amused smile playing on his lips as I put the plate in the sink before turning back towards him. He was already looking at me and I felt my heart speed up without my consent for it to do so.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at him with a smile.

"Dance with me"

I was taken aback. "Here?" He nodded and I shot him a look. "Are you serious?" He couldn't be serious.

"Yes" he held out his hand innocently, looking at me with something in his eyes that I couldn't read. I had seen it a few times before and I still didn't know what it meant.

I shook my head, taking his hand as I did so. I felt an immediate jolt of energy pass through me as I did and I couldn't figure out why that kept happening whenever we touched, maybe I was just imagining it. I didn't have long to dwell on it as his hand came up to my waist and I put one hand on his shoulder and we began to sway but defiantly not to the beat of the much too loud pop song that was playing. I looked up at him, a bit of laughter on my features as we swayed to the blaring music and shook with amusement.

I stopped laughing, my features settling on a soft smile as we continued our dance and we moved a little closer together. He was so close to me now that I could smell his crisp aroma of pine and the earth. It was a very pleasing scent, something I had never picked up on before. It was just the proximity that allowed me to learn new things about the good doctor. I also couldn't ignore the way my heart was hammering away against my rib-cage as we drew ever so slightly closer and I automatically leaned against the lapel of his suit.

His head was just barely touching my hair as we swayed back and forth, not talking and neither of us was laughing anymore. I was barely paying attention to the music and I could barely hear it over my pounding heart-beat. I couldn't even smell the food anymore, all of it being masked by Carlisle's pleasant earthy scent that seemed to be filling up my senses to the point of intoxication. Everything was just so close. He was so close. His arms were around me and all I could focus on was him holding me gently, his arm staying wrapped around my waist while the other was grasping my bare hand. I couldn't focus on any one particular aspect, I could only know that he was holding me and that we were dancing. Those would be the two facts that I knew for sure. There was nothing else in the entire universe that I could be sure of in that moment. I don't think anyone could have asked me what two plus two was.

I vaguely heard the song trail off and I pulled back slightly, looking up at him. There was that look in his eyes again. Our connected hands dropped down and one of his came to rest on the other side of my waist. We didn't say anything, simply looking at each other, our eyes locked in place. My mind was foggy and I couldn't gather together a single coherent thought. All I could think was that he was absolutely breathtaking in every single way possible.

"Carlisle" Edward's clear voiced called out from the doorway and snapped my brain out of the fog I had fallen into. I quickly dropped my hands from Carlisle and stepped out of his grasp, my face a bright red as I looked at the ground. "Alice has information and Bella has a theory about our little problem" he said, but I didn't have the gull to look up at him as he spoke to Carlisle, too focused on the scene that Edward had just walked in on. Oh god, what he must think. I didn't even know what to think.

"I'll be right there" I heard Carlisle say and I peeked up at him as Edward left. "I have to go and talk with them for a little while, will you be okay by yourself?" he asked, looking just the same as normal. He looked completely unfazed at what had just happened. Well, nothing had technically happened but something sure was close to happening before Edward had walked in. I didn't even know if I wanted something to happen. I wasn't sure about any of it. Maybe it was all in my imagination, after all Carlisle looked completely fine and normal. Yes, it must just be me. I was just overthinking as usual.

I noticed Carlisle was still waiting for an answer while I had been thinking through all of this and I quickly nodded. "Yes of course, I'll be fine, go, go" I ushered.

He gave me a smile before making his way out of the kitchen and I turned to lean against the counter, missing the way he glanced back at me before walking out.

As soon as I heard his footsteps go out of the room, I collapsed against the counter. Oh, good goodness, what was I thinking. Carlisle was my friend. Was I really about to do something to jeopardize that? Carlisle didn't seem to notice anything, he seemed completely unaffected by all of it. What was I thinking? God, that was so stupid. It was just the moment, I told myself. Dancing around a kitchen with someone close to me that was undeniable handsome had just gone to my head. That was all. I shook my head, placing a hand against my hot face. That had to be the explanation, I was sure of it.

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 **Yeahhhh this chapter took me awhile to finish. I kept editing parts and then deleting portions (sorry for the many grammatical and spelling mistakes) and the spring semester started so I've had to deal with classes on top of my indecision. Updates may be a bit slower but I'll try to get updates to you guys as quickly as I can. This was a really development packed chapter so please tell me what you thought! Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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The rest of the party went rather normally and it just reinforced my idea that whatever the little moment Carlisle and I had in the kitchen was just a fluke. Carlisle had disappeared to talk with his family for a little bit, during which time I had found Ben and talked with him about this and that. Carlisle had found me a while later as I was sitting in one of the living room chairs, half falling asleep. I was surprised at how tired I already was but Carlisle assured me it was fine and had promptly driven me home. He didn't seem bothered at all, treating me as he always had, still opening the car door for me while keeping a respectable distance. It was as if nothing happened, nothing at all.

As soon as I heard the door close and Carlisle's car drive off, I collapsed onto the couch, exhausted from the day. I was just being ridiculous, all of this was absolutely ridiculous. I shook my head, looking through my bedroom door at the suitcase that was on the floor. I needed to pack for my trip tomorrow.

Right after my last shift at the bookstore tomorrow, I would be going straight to the airport and off to Colorado for three-weeks. My parents were expecting me already and they had already prepared their guest bedroom for me to work out of for the weeks that I would be there. I was excited to see them and excited for my training but now, I just couldn't get Carlisle's face out of my head.

I spent the rest of the night packing, shoving various items into my bag without much thought. My mind was spent flipping through images of the day, going over how Carlisle's hands felt grasping my waist as I leaned ever so slightly against him. I couldn't believe that had happened. I'm sure not all friends did that, at least I didn't do that with my friends. Maybe Carlisle did that with all of his friends, after all I had never met his friends outside of Forks. I was just overthinking it, that was all it was.

The next day I was all packed and ready to go, straightening out a few things at the house before loading my bags into my car. The drive to the bookstore was an oddly sad one. This was my last shift at the bookstore. Honestly, I didn't know how I felt about that. When I first took the job, I was still in college and I didn't think I'd be working there very long but here I was two years later and now it was my last day. I didn't think I'd be so sentimental.

I parked my car, locking the door as I walked to the shop. I think I really would miss this place. The small back room with the big dusty bookshelves, the narrow aisles, and the outdated register. I said goodbye to the new girl who had been working the shift before me and looked around the place.

Yeah, I would miss it here. This was where I had met Ben and learned all about his many endeavors. Ben would be off to college at the end of the summer and it was unlikely that I'd see him again before he left. There were so many people that I knew from this book shop, so many customers.

I had also met Carlisle here. Carlisle. What was I going to do about him? A part of me wasn't worried about our friendship but that was a very small part. The larger part was dying to know how our friendship would be when I came back from my trip. I wouldn't be working at the bookstore anymore and I'd really have no reason to see him at all. Sure, I might see him from time to time at the hospital one day a week for a few minutes at a time but that wasn't the same. Not when comparing it to the hours upon hours I would see him at the bookshop per week, at least. I just knew that things would be different.

As if on que the bell to the entrance rung and Carlisle walked through the door. I had only just seen him less than 24hours ago but my face still lit up as I saw his wide grin.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wasn't about to miss your last day" He came up to the counter where I was leaning against the wood with my head perched on my hand. "And I brought you something" he said, pulling out a slightly long black box and sliding it over the counter.

I quirked an eyebrow, "What's this for?"

"It's just something small to congratulate you on your new job" he said, easing the box closer to me in little increments until it pushed against my arm.

I looked at him with a small smile, taking the box from the counter. I watched him closely as I opened the box, marveling as I took off the cover. Inside was a pair of engraved silver pens. Looking closely, I held the box closer and saw that it said 'Ms. Coraline Parson' on the side. The pens were absolutely beautiful and no doubt very expensive.

"Carlisle," I looked up at him, shaking my head. "You shouldn't have, this is just so wonderful, thank you" I said gratefully. He had the most wonderful eyes that were looking at me with a sparkling shine to them. God, I could just look at him for years and never get bored.

"Thank you, Carlisle, really thank you" I reached over to grab his hand, reveling slightly at the tingling that shot up my arm as we touched.

"What are friends for, right?" His words put a stop to my thoughts and I felt myself falter for a second before I gave him a smile, squeezing his hand one more time before letting him go.

"Well, I really appreciate it"

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 **This is a short chapter but I just felt like I needed to write sort of a filler chapter just because sometimes I feel off about the pacing and this helps me think. I will write a longer chapter next time, probably. I also really appreciate you all and I read and love all of your comments and they really inspire me. So, Read! And Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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Colorado was great. I had forgotten how much I missed my parents and seeing them again had just been absolutely wonderful. My mom had probably squeezed all of the life out of me and my dad had tried to stuff as much food into me as he could. They also dragged me along on some of their adventures, well my mom was really the one that was dragging me up and out of the house on the days when I didn't have training.

The training was also fun. I had only been outside of college for a year but I had forgotten how much I love being in classes with other people and learning something new. The people were very friendly and it was just so great going to different lectures and meeting new teachers, just like me. Every day, I had to go to a different lecture in the morning that lasted until lunch and then we would conclude by doing some type of either group presentation or activity. All of it really kept me busy and yet I couldn't get Carlisle's face out of my mind.

Of course, the dreams didn't help. Ever since I came to Colorado the dreams seemed to grow more realistic. Usually it would just be flashes of his face or him off in the distance but now the dreams were of his arms around me, sometimes we would be dancing, other times we would be sitting on the couch together, his arms around me while I leaned into him. I woke up with the ghost of his hands around me and a tingling sensation in my stomach. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I just couldn't get it out of my head, well I couldn't get him out of my head. He was just my friend. Just my friend and yet I didn't know why he haunted me. He had even said that we were friends and that's all we were, right? The dreams left me with a headache, partially just because they were what I spent all of my spare time thinking about.

I didn't have Carlisle's contact information besides where he worked and his daughter Alice's number and now I was very grateful for that fact. The dreams were only just proving that I needed separation. Maybe, I was just way too reliant on Carlisle's friendship lately. He did take up an awful lot of my time and he had somehow become my closest and most reliable friend.

Today would be my last day in Colorado. I was going back to Forks on the last flight back. I wondered about what had gone on in the three-weeks I had been away, about how Carlisle was doing. I wondered about his family as well and what Bella had said I was missing. Sometimes when I spoke to Carlisle he would get the strangest look in his eye before he blinked and it disappeared. It always felt like I was missing something, always missing the end of a joke or the beginning of one.

"Could you stop twirling that thing and drink your tea" called out my mother as she brought out a plate of brownies that my dad had whipped up earlier in the morning.

I stilled my hand, setting down the pen I had been spinning through my fingers. It was one of the pen's Carlisle had gifted to me. I had taken them to Colorado with me and used them throughout my training. The pens never gave out, not even fading once throughout the three weeks; it was a quality product, just what I'd expect from someone as wonderful as Carlisle. Unfortunately, every time I looked at them I couldn't help but think back to Carlisle. I wasn't sure about anything.

"Something on your mind?" asked my mother before she took a sip from her mug, looking at me over the rim.

I shook my head. I didn't know how to verbalize what I was contemplating. I didn't even fully comprehend what I was contemplating. I was sure that if I said anything it would come out in a rambling that I wasn't prepared to hear myself vocalize.

"Are you sure? Even when you were younger, you'd twirl something while you sat and stewed in your confusion," I shifted slightly, my eyes glancing up at my mother as she continued. "But what do I know? I've only known you longer than anyone else"

I sighed, picking up my mug, the heat warming my hands. "It's nothing really, it's silly"

"It's always silly but come on and tell your mother" she said nudging me with her foot, as she raised her eyebrows at me.

I hunched over, my finger gliding over the rim of the cup as I contemplated what I was going to say. "It's about Carlisle"

She sat up straighter, inching closer to the edge of her seat. "Ooh your handsome doctor friend

"Yes, him." Of course, I had told her about Carlisle before, in phone calls and such but I hadn't talked about him since I came to Colorado. She looked at me, her eyes urging me to continue. "I've been thinking about him lately and I just- I just—" The words weren't coming together.

"You just?" she looked at me with her lips tilted up, a hint of a smile shining over her mug.

I drew in a breath, "I just don't know about him, I don't know anything at all"

"I thought you said you two talked a lot? I'm sure you know something about the man"

"It's not that, I know about him but I also don't know things about him" I said, hoping that she'd understand what I was trying to say even if I didn't fully understand what I was saying.

"Well, how do you feel about him?"

"I think he's a great person" I said simply, the words coming easily to me. "He's a wonderful father and doctor, a real stand-up person."

"And how do you feel about him personally?"

I tilted my head, looking at her with a creased forehead. "That was my personal opinion" She gave me a skeptical look, her eyebrows raising as she kept her lips in a thin smirk and waited for me to continue. I let out a sigh, my shoulders hunching as I put my mug down. "I think he's a great friend, he listens to me and he cares, he really cares"

"And how does that make you feel?"

"I- I don't know"

She looked at me with a slight smile on the edge of her lips, "Sounds like someone's got quite a bit of thinking to do"

"I have thought about it, I've thought about it for three-weeks now and yet nothing, I think of him and my brain blanks, do you know how frustrating that is?" I asked, closing my eyes as I leaned back onto the hard wood chair. "I think about him and yet words can't get from my brain to my mouth and everything is just- just confusing." I said, keeping my eyes closed.

"Sounds like you have quite the problem on your hands" she said, her voice coming to a hilt at the end. I could tell she was smiling when she said it, even if I couldn't see her. I heard the sound of rustling fabric before I heard the sound of mugs being picked up. I had hardly touched my tea and I suspected that she knew I wasn't going to finish it. I felt her hand come to squeeze my shoulder. "If you want my opinion, it just sounds like you have a little crush on the man, nothin' wrong with that, Coraline"

I opened my eyes as I heard that, looking at her as she walked into the kitchen with our mugs of unfinished tea. My forehead knitted together as I scoffed at her words. She was starting to sound just like Ben. I could practically picture him saying that with that smug smirk of his before he'd shake his head at me and walk into the back to avoid my speech of adamant denial. I didn't like Carlisle. I just didn't. That was a simply ridiculous thought, I repeated to myself as I shook my head, reaching over for one of the brownies mother had left on the table.

A glint of silver stopped me and I picked up the pen I had set down earlier, feeling the smooth metal as I held it up. I ran my thumb over the indents of the engraving, the smooth cold metal feeling nice against the summer air around me. I couldn't like Carlisle. The thought was absolutely ridiculous. I ran my finger over the engraving again, absolutely ridiculous.

Thankfully for me, my mother didn't bring up Carlisle again in the morning although she did give me rather odd look when she saw me twirling the pen between my fingers. The rest of the day passed in a compatible silence, the two of us spending the day watching various movies together until it was time to leave for the airport. I tried not to think about what she had said about Carlisle. I didn't have a crush on him. I didn't have a crush on anyone.

Leaving Colorado had been an overall easy affair, saying goodbye to my parents and promising to visit during my next break before they dropped me off at the airport. The plane ride had gone rather well, too, except for the crying babies that seem insistent on crying for the entire flight. I really wasn't paying attention to that, reading the same line in my book over and over as I became lost in thought.

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 **Hey you all, I'm sorry. I'm tired and I thought this was a good enough length. I will update as soon as possible I promise. Thank you for all the reviews because they really keep me motivated!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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Well, I had thoroughly scrubbed every single wall and window of my house in the three days that I had been home. Every speck of dust and dirt had been scrubbed away with bleach, Windex, and a whole lot of rags and now that I had finished everything, I was utterly and completely bored. Summer proved to be filled with long stretches of nothing. It had only been three days and I had done every chore inside of my house—the trash was taken out, the showers scrubbed, etc. Now, I had nothing to do except lay on the floor of my living room staring up at the ceiling. Maybe I could clean the ceiling, that would certainly take more time.

School preparation wouldn't start for another month and I hadn't spent much time in the past year developing hobbies. Maybe I should take up knitting. There was yarn in some of my grandmother's boxes in the attic that I hadn't thrown out, I could use that. The sound of a bing grabbed my attention, and I picked up my phone, holding the object above me.

It was Alice, that was certainly a surprise.

' _Hey Coraline! How would you like to come with Bella and I on a small trip up to Seattle? We're going shopping, I hope you can come, just let me know'_

I read the text again, my eyebrows furrowing together. This wasn't what I had expected. I hadn't thought too much about Carlisle within the past few days, drowning myself in cleaning chemicals to avoid thinking much about it. The last thing that I thought would happen was that one of his children would contact me. In all honesty, I forgot that she had my number. So, sue me, it was nearly four weeks ago.

Well, I had nothing to lose. Well, except maybe my sanity but who needs that.

 _'I'd love to, when are you guys going?'_

I didn't have to wait long for a reply. _'Today! We will pick you up in thirty-minutes!'_

My eyes widened, and I hoisted myself up, throwing the phone onto the couch. Thirty-minutes? Goodness, they weren't wasting anytime. I needed to take a shower and brush my hair and change out of these clothes that probably smelled like a tub of bleach.

I ran into my bedroom, quickly throwing off my clothes and taking a quick shower, hoping that I had washed away all of the smell of Windex. The summery dress I picked out had been one that my mother had sent me last Christmas. It was one of those linen dresses, dyed a light yellow, she said that it offset the dark hair that I had inherited from my father. The fabric was also light enough to let air flow through comfortably so that I wouldn't pass out from heat stroke in the summer heat.

My hair was still wet from the shower and I definitely did look like a wet rat with the clumps of hair stuck to my head in a very unladylike fashion. It was certainly very unbecoming. I pulled through my wet strands with a thin comb, biting my tongue as I yanked roughly at the knots, nearly snapping the comb in two as my hands rushed to finish. I only had so much time before they would be here. God, thirty-minutes wasn't much time at all.

I was half-way through shoving random junk into my purse when I heard gravel against tires coming from the front of the house followed quickly by a light knocking at the door. I froze automatically, looking over at myself in the mirror one more time before I forced myself to take calm steps to the door rather than rushing there in a hurried mess. I wanted to at least keep the illusion of being put together alive, was that so much to ask for.

As soon as I pulled open the door, Alice's face scrunched up, visibly recoiling.

"Sorry, you must still be able to smell the bleach I used on the tile floor, I've been cleaning all morning and last night" and the day and night before that and the day and night before that but I wasn't about to mention that particular aspect. I slipped through the door, closing it behind me and hoping that would be enough to cover the scent of the cleaning products.

"Well, you've certainly been busy, I've just got a sensitive nose, that's all"

"I just figured that the house could use some summer cleaning" I said, leaving out that I had been avoiding thinking about her adopted father by cleaning my sorrows away. "I was actually surprised that you texted me, I only just got back three days ago"

"I just have wonderful timing then" she said, a smile on her lips as we began walking towards the car. I let out a short laugh but Alice seemed to be looking farther out and away with a sly smirk on her lips and I shook my head, there were just somethings that I wouldn't understand. Bella was in the front seat and she waved to me from the car as she saw us approaching.

I got into the back seat, pulling the car door open with ease before I situated myself on the smooth leather. Thankfully, the car's AC was already on, meaning that my skin wouldn't be sticking to the seat.

"How was your trip?"

I buckled my seat-belt, hearing the familiar click before I looked up to answer Bella. "It went really well, there were daily conferences and group activities, all fun stuff and I got to visit my parents, so that's just a bonus" I said, the smile evident in my chipper tone as I spoke. "What about you two, anything new happen?"

Bella seemed to hesitate, looking at Alice for a split second before twisting to hold out her hand to me in the back.

"Is- is that—?" I looked at her incredulously, pulling her hand gently closer to me as I looked at the large ring on her finger. "Are you—"

She laughed, nodding. "Engaged? Yes"

I didn't know Bella well enough to pass any real judgment on the situation. I hardly knew Edward either but I did know that they had just graduated from high school less than a month ago; it was certainly a quick engagement. Carlisle had never mentioned that Edward was thinking of proposing to the girl and I hadn't thought about the possibility either but here Bella was, wearing an engagement ring.

"Well, congratulations, that's really exciting," She smiled, looking at the ring with a soft expression. I could almost see the hearts forming in her eyes as she gazed at the sturdy ring on her small hand. I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding on a private moment as I sat there in the car, watching the young girl's face light up. It only served to remind me that I only just became reacquainted with the girl. The last time I had known Bella was when she was still running around playing in the yard and clearly, she was far from that now. "When's the wedding?"

"August 13th" chimed in Alice, looking at the two of us through the mirror with a broad smile pulling across her face. "Bella's agreed to let me plan the entire affair, the dress, the flowers." Alice looked as if she already had an entire binder full of ideas.

"You have to come to the wedding by the way" said Bella, pulling my focus from Alice.

"Oh-" I stuttered, my head fogging with the invitation. I hardly knew these people, I thought this was just going to be a getting acquainted with each other day, not a 'let me invite you to a wedding' day. "I don't - I don't want to intrude, don't feel like you hav-"

"Nonsense, really, I think that you should be there" said Bella, looking at me with the same expression Alice had on earlier of utter delight at my confusion. This family was constantly throwing me for a loop.

"Well, who am I to refuse the bride, I'd be delighted to be there." I gave her a weak smile, what was Carlisle going to think? I had just gotten myself invited to his son's wedding without even discussing it with him first. Maybe he already knew that Bella was going to invite me. Another question came to mind, did he even know that we were going out today? It was times like this that I really wished that I had his number.

How had we been friends for so long without having each other's contact information. I mean I know where he works and lives and he knows where I work and live, I suppose that was good enough.

The rest of the drive passed quickly, the hours not seeming to be so long with people to talk with. Bella retold the story of Edward proposing and I couldn't help but find it charming that they had found one another. Sure, they were young but they were in love and as much as I would never have gotten married at 18, that didn't make the story any less sweet. Throughout her tale, I couldn't help but notice the pauses. The pauses where Bella would look over to Alice quickly as if checking her words before they came out. Even when we switched to talking about how Bella and Edward met there still seemed to be a certain degree of information held back, just from the way Bella spoke, almost talking around something. Alice, too, would jump into a story, the tale falling much easier through her lips than it did Bella's. I didn't think they were lying to me exactly but they weren't telling me something. That much was obvious.

I let all of it slide, not calling them once out on their strange behavior. I didn't know either of them well-enough to feel entitled to whatever they were holding back and I didn't want to ruin the drive to Seattle with my curiosity. Being in the know wasn't something I was going to expect from people that I barely knew so they could keep their secrets or whatever it was. I didn't mind as long as it wasn't going to harm me.

Shopping with Alice was rather exhausting. It was like she had a never-ending amount of energy to bounce from shop to shop and still want to keep going. I wasn't opposed to shopping-trips but Alice took planning a wedding to an entirely different level. She scheduled with florists to meet about flower arrangements and we had been in there staring at flowers for nearly an hour before Alice was happy with the arrangements. Then we had walked off into shop after shop looking for accessories for the big day, Alice insisted that everything had to be perfect and while it was exhausting, I couldn't help but find all of her efforts endearing. Alice was one of those rare people in life that could light up a room with a laugh and twinkle down the street in bliss as she tried to recreate the beauty in her head so those around her could see it too.

I was also glad to have Bella there with me who seemed to be equally exhausted as we kept walking down another street, Alice was already yards in front of us staring into the window of another boutique. Bella didn't seem thrilled to be dragged along on a shopping trip, especially not one that lasted for hours upon hours without a break but she seemed to be humoring Alice with all of this. It was her that I found conversation with as we strolled along, trying to keep watch for when Alice turned a corner or went into a shop.

Bella was entirely how I remembered her caring, thoughtful, and intelligent. She had the soul of someone far above her age and yet retained a bit of the ignorance of childhood. It wasn't the bad horrible type of ignorance that leads to wars and spoiled children, it was the type that seeped into your personality shining through with an unrelenting belief in people even if they didn't believe in themselves. She had always been like that, even since she was a girl-from what I could remember of her that is. Bella had taken care of things around her, even her father to an extent and I had no doubt that she would make a wonderful mother when the time came down the line, way down the line. It was just who she was.

When Alice finally stopped twirling down the street and headed back towards us, both Bella and I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm going to meet with a decorator, why don't you two find a place to eat and we'll meet up after?"

Bella nodded, "That'll be great, I think I saw a restaurant a couple blocks back."

"You don't want to come with us?"

Alice shook her head, smiling her pearly white teeth at me. "No, I'm not hungry but you two go along."

"We can bring you back something?" I offered. I didn't want her to starve and we had been walking for quite a while, I didn't want the pixie-like girl to pass out from exhaustion. I hadn't even seen her drink water this entire time.

"Trust me, I'm fine" she said nudging me along with Bella. There was that look again, the one that Carlisle gave me sometimes too, like they were sharing in a joke that I just couldn't understand.

"If you're sure." Alice nodded, sending both Bella and I to get food while she ran off to do more wedding tasks. She sure had a lot more energy than I was capable of.

Once we arrived at the little restaurant, we took a seat near the window. It wasn't particularly busy nor was it particularly empty either but we had come in just as the larger lunch crowd had finished up. We gave out order to the waitress quickly, both of us feeling rather hungry after all of the walking.

Bella and I lapped into a normal conversation, talking about the summer and plans for the future. All the while, I couldn't help but wonder about how Carlisle was doing this summer. It had been over three-weeks since I last saw him and I really was curious. I promised myself earlier in the car that I wouldn't bring him up because that would only lead me into a spiral of thoughts that I didn't particularly want to deal with. It wasn't my fault when Bella brought him up.

"You never did tell me how you met Carlisle, all I know is that you worked in a bookshop," she said before taking full sips of her water.

"Yes, I did, he was just one of my customers and he'd come in one day, searching for a book—a book for Edward I think and our friendship just sorta happened," I couldn't help the small nostalgic smile from pulling my lips up and I twirled my ice-tea with a straw. "It' really wasn't even that long ago, maybe half a year."

"What book was it—the one he was picking up for Edward?"

I pursed my lips, my brow furrowing as I tried to remember the title. It had been so long ago. "I think it was something along the lines of 'Dark creatures meeting humans' or something along those lines, I'm not entirely sure."

Bella looked at me, a secret smile playing on her lips as she let out a short laugh. There was that look again, I was sure that even if I asked her why that was funny, I wouldn't be getting the entire answer. Instead, I just laughed with her, enjoying the younger girl's company.

After we finished eating and met back up with Alice, we were taken to an entirely new set of shops. Alice seemed determined to find a dress to wear to the wedding and had tried on several pairs of outfits and shoes before she found the one she wanted. It was purple with a roaring twenties flair on it; perfectly suited for Alice's vibrant personality. The shoes were a different issue, one we had given up on by the fifth shop as Bella and I dragged Alice out of the shop by her forearms, telling her that she could always custom order shoes online.

We drove back with a sense of accomplishment, even if we had only succeeded in finding more clothes for Alice and picked out a few flowers. It was a fun day filled with light hearted conversation and laughter. It would almost be a shame to go home to my clean but empty house and apparently Alice had similar thoughts because we drove straight past my neighborhood. I expected Alice to notice the lapse but she continued driving.

"I think that you missed a turn, Alice" but she looked at me without blinking, giving me an innocent smile.

"I don't think I'm quite ready to give you back yet, plus there's nothing wrong with bringing guests over"

"Alice," said Bella giving the black-haired girl a questioning look, asking something unspoken with a look that I was sure was filled with apprehension. Alice either didn't notice or she was ignoring Bella's attempt at subtly questioning her and kept on driving with a dangerously mischievous look in her eyes. Bella tried again, "What about wh-"

"Oh, this that, there's no telling up from down, Bella" she said, cutting Bella off before she could question her further.

"Well, um okay, if you're sure it's alright" I said, hesitating slightly and looked to Bella who just shrugged her shoulders before leaning back against her chair. I didn't know what was going on but I definitely didn't want to be a bother. I suppose that if Alice was the one kidnapping me then I couldn't exactly be held responsible for intruding, although I could still be put in the position of feeling unbelievably awkward.

I really hoped that maybe everyone else would be out of the house. I don't think I was fully prepared to see Carlisle's children again after the very brief introduction we had three-weeks ago. It wasn't that they weren't nice, I'm sure they were, but my chest contracted tightly at the thought of talking to them and then discovering that they hated me. If I just avoided talking to them, then they couldn't hate me. That was clear and sound logic to me.

Alice pulled into the driveway and Bella unbuckled her seat belt slowly before she stretched her arms out. It had been a rather long drive and I, too, wanted to stop sitting in the same position. I waited for them to both get out of the car before I followed in suit, helping Bella to grab some of Alice's bags as we walked to the house.

The house was just as I remembered it; filled with a low light and clean crisp furniture. Although this time it lacked the party decorations but I still found the entire place to be delightful if not a little overwhelming. I was relived to discover that everyone else in the house was apparently out, Alice had mumbled an explanation before pulling us upstairs to her room with a surprising amount of strength. While I was grateful for the reprieve from having to see anyone else, I couldn't help but also wonder about Carlisle. I had pushed down my curiosity deep within myself and locked it away under layers of denial. I didn't want to see him, not yet. I still needed a bit more time to revel in my thoughts before I was ready to face the man who had thrown them into a ruckus in the first place.

Alice had already launched into trying on her dress for the wedding and I had to say that it looked wonderful on her. It clung in just the right area and highlighted the best of her features, although all of her was already wonderful. I couldn't imagine being so beautiful, that was certainly something Alice held within herself and it seemed to flow from her very fingers extending outwardly until everyone could feel the warmth of her smile, even if her skin was cold. It was certainly an enviable quality, something that I was sure no one could pull of quite as well as Alice could.

I excused myself quietly to the rest room and had dallied on my way back to Alice's room, taking in their decorations in new light. Things were the same and at the same time different without Carlisle there to explain little nuances to me. I had stopped once I reached the kitchen, leaning against the doorway. I hadn't wanted to think about what happened here or more accurately, what didn't happen here. I had indeed spent three-weeks actively avoiding thinking about the Cullen's kitchen.

Looking on it now though, my dreams were brought back to me in full force, combining with the memories and swirling around in a mess in my mind. I could remember how he felt next to me, one hand holding steady on my waist while the other gently cupped my hand as we swayed back and forth between the kitchen counters. The way his earthy scent overwhelmed my mind to the point of delirium, it was intoxicating. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest at the memory and I tried to steel myself against having such a reaction but it was futile.

"Coraline" All at once I felt myself freeze, like a child having been caught snooping through their parent's dresser. I turned in a flash, my cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Carlisle," I felt my throat go dry as I quickly re-ordered my brain and slammed the door closed on what I had just been thinking about. Apparently, my brain couldn't handle the strain because what came out of my mouth next was, "Alice and Bella—shopping—Seattle, upstairs" all in one breath, too.

My nerves were soothed all at once at the sound of his glittering laugh coupled with the soft tilt of his head. I found myself smiling with him, looking at him with new eyes. Oh, god how I had missed him. Now, the three weeks felt like ages upon ages now that he was standing a mere three feet away. How had I even considered for a moment earlier that I didn't want to see him when the confusion inside me could be so easily quieted with one look of this strange and wonderful man.

"I missed you," that certainly wasn't what I had intended to say but I couldn't help it slip from my mouth as the words repeated themselves over and over in my head as the thought grounded me.

He looked at me strangely, something flickering in his gaze but it was gone before I could catch it's meaning. "And I you, how was your trip?" he asked the question flowing so smoothly off of his lips that I almost missed the first half of the sentiment.

We ended up staying there in the doorway of the kitchen, both of us leaning against one side as I told him about the past few weeks. It felt so natural to see him, to be with him talking that I almost forgot that we were even in his house, talking in a doorway. I told him all about my lectures and the games we'd all play plus all of the baked treats my dad had made for me while in Colorado. Carlisle took all of it with an ever-present smile of genuine interest, looking at me with the most intriguing expression. I couldn't figure out how this was different than the other times we'd spoken but something about it felt so very close.

"And how was the past three weeks for you then? Do anything new and exciting?" A glimmer of amusement passed through his eyes before Carlisle shook his head.

"It was all very standard, Bella and Edward are getting married, as I'm sure you probably heard about from Bella today,"

Oh, right, them. I had forgotten that I was supposed to be getting back to them. It was almost concerning that they hadn't come to check on me but they probably knew I had gotten distracted.

I nodded. "Yeah, did you know Alice was going to ask me on our little wedding planning escapade?" That I was curious about. When he had first seen me, he hadn't been overly shocked and yet I had a feeling he still wasn't expecting me to be in the doorway of his kitchen.

"She said something briefly as she was already in the car before quickly driving off"

"It was rather sudden for me, too"

"I imagine that they didn't give you a great deal of forewarning?"

"If thirty-minutes counts but they did ask me if I wanted to go so it wasn't a complete ambush and I did enjoy it, getting out of the house, doing something"

He quirked an eyebrow, "Have you not been leaving the house?"

Well, maybe I shouldn't have revealed that much. I really needed to learn when to stop talking. "It's- it's not like I'm becoming the village shut-in so don't give me that look, I've just never realized how much free time I have and how many hobbies I don't have." I shrugged it off as casually as I could.

"Well, my door is always open"

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow in his direction. "Are you offering to be my hobby? Or are you offering to be my doctor and diagnose me with boredom?" I teased, not being serious. "Because I'll have you know that I've already self-diagnosed"

"And what's your diagnosis?"

"Terminal Boredom, I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done."

"I think I know a cure for that, actually"

"And what would that be, Dr. Cullen?" I teased, seeing the amusement light up in his golden eyes.

We both turned as Alice's voice resounded from the staircase, "The cure is helping me with wedding planning!" I briefly wondered how much of Carlisle and I's conversation she had been listening to but it couldn't have been that much. She probably wasn't in earshot until she came hallway down the stairs, there was nothing to worry about. We could hear her footsteps coming further down the stairs until she was looking at the both of us with her hands clasped firmly in front of her, a mischievous smile playing on her features. "It's perfect, you'll be a great help with everything."

I looked to Carlisle and he gave me a slight shrug of his shoulders, he didn't know anything about this either. Alice just looked so excited, like she had found someone who could share in her excitement without being tired of it within the first three-hours of her chaotic organization process. It would certainly give me something to do over the summer since I wasn't working at the bookstore. Forget it, why not.

"I'd love to, Alice," her delighted squeal was enough reassurance for me that she truly wanted me to be involved.

"Well, that's great! I already can't wait and we have so much to talk about and plan, when you come back upstairs I can start getting you filled in on everything," she said, rocking herself forward on her heels. "But take your time down here, don't let me interrupt." And with that she had jetted herself right back up the stairs, away from Carlisle and I.

Maybe through doing this I could also become more comfortable around the rest of Carlisle's children, after all besides Alice, I hadn't done a ton of socializing with them. I hadn't even talked to the groom of this wedding, which I probably should since I would now be planning his wedding with his sister. Yes, I think this project would be good for me. I wasn't even going to mention that I would probably be spending more time around Carlisle's home meaning that I would then be spending more time around Carlisle himself as well.

"You know you've just signed up for a whole month and a half of gowns and dresses mixed with cakes and flowers?" said Carlisle, a smile playing on his pale features.

I nodded, "I don't mind planning and like Alice said it'd give me something to do," I paused, feeling a bit unsure of myself. Maybe it was Carlisle that didn't want me to do this. Had I inserted myself too much into his life? Was this all too weird? "I don't have to of course, if it makes you uncomfortable" I was falling over my words.

"No, no," he said, quickly waving off that train of thought. "It's not that, I'd be delighted to have you around," I couldn't help but perk up at that. "I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into, that's all,"

"I rather like Alice, she's funny and clever while also being completely random which is a defining quality by itself,"

"A very apt description,"

"I think I should go back upstairs and get the full run-down, then" I said, looking at him with a wide smile. I always seemed to smile around him. It was just something he brought out in me, I couldn't help it.

We said our goodbyes, and I inexplicably couldn't help the bout of nerves that came to me as I walked away. It was almost the desire to run back to him and tell him to keep talking, to never stop talking because I never wanted to stop hearing his voice. The sudden thought stuck with me, hitting me roughly as I made slow steps up the stairs.

I would never want to stop talking to him.

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 **Happy Valentine's Day! I wanted to post something today because I love Valentine's day. I know a few of you are frustrated that she just won't admit that she likes him but it'll get better, probably. Also, quick shout out to all of you who comment on a lot of my chapters, I read every single one of your comments and appreciate all of the support. So, comment! And read the story, of course :D**

 **Till next time!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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The first thing that I learned about wedding planning is that everything is a scam or a rip-off. There wasn't a single place that I called that hadn't tried to unfairly profit off of my inexperience at wedding planning. Alice could take it all in stride, sweet-talking various vendors with a sweet laugh and an innocent comment and they'd melt into puddles at her feet, moving the sun and moon to please the sweet girl. I, on the other hand, was left with nothing but a string of frustratingly difficult phone-calls to make and appointments to schedule. Alice continued to assure me that budget wasn't an issue and that even if I didn't get the best deal there was no real harm, but I refused to settle for anything less than I could get. Therefore, I had spent the last two days scouring catalogs, advice columns, and the internet, all in an attempt to well prepare myself on what was really a fair price and what was a rip-off. This really was exhausting work but I wanted Bella's wedding to be wonderful.

The bride herself didn't seem to be all that worried about the wedding, not really caring what went where as long as she got to be with Edward. While endearing, I wouldn't have been opposed to hearing a few of her opinions about what she wanted rather than blindly guessing after she told me that it didn't matter. Alice seemed to already have a perfect vision for the wedding and the placement of where everything was going to go. I was amazed at how well she did under the pressure of putting together an entire wedding in just a little over two-months.

While in the few days that I had begun to spend planning with Alice at the Cullen's house, I hadn't seen the groom or for that matter many of the other Cullen children either. I still saw Carlisle, always between making notes or phone calls in the halls. He'd give me a wave if I was on a call or if he caught me before or after one we'd be able to talk for a few minutes before Alice would call out to me, saying she knew that I wasn't planning a wedding if I was talking to Carlisle. What made it worse was somehow only seeing Carlisle for bits and pieces made me miss him more than when I was gone for three-weeks. How is that even possible?

I was also seriously starting to think that his children were avoiding me, perhaps I hadn't given them a good impression. They were just never around, not really. I tried not to let it bother me, pushing away my worries as I focused on one of Alice's various tangents about the placement of the flowers along the aisle.

"And that's why the flowers have to line ¾ of the right side of the aisle but not to the left, did you get all of that?" she said, giving me a skeptical glance.

I tapped my note pad with the tip of my pen, "All written down, I'll go make the call, boss." I stood, stretching out my arms. God, I had been listening to that for a while. "I'll go make the call."

"Don't forget to tell them that we need same day delivery," Alice called out as I made my way out of the room, phone in hand. I waved her off, a fond smile on my lips as I shook my head.

Earlier, I had scribbled down the number onto my notepad, somewhere in the notepad, I just needed to find it. I flipped through the pages. I had doodled Alice's plan, using my just lovely drawing skills. Well, that's a lie. My drawings could probably pass for some of my student's art work, although some of those kids could really use a pen. My drawing would look like prehistoric cave drawings, well maybe not even that good.

I jumped at the sound of a voice behind me, "Making a phone call?"

I already recognized the voice, turning automatically. "You've got to stop sneaking up on me, you're going to give me a heart-attack," I couldn't keep the slight smile from appearing on my face as Carlisle gave me a slightly guilty look.

"And I'm sure you'd recover quite fine in the house of a doctor."

I rolled my eyes, "I see the headlines now, 'Local doctor gives woman heart attack only to help her recover.'"

"I'm sure the news would love it," he said, his eyes glittering with amusement.

"Yes, of course, perfect plan, just give me a heart attack and then throw me into the arms of the person who gave me it in the first place, just lovely." I really was smiling now.

"You've discovered my evil plan, how will I capture you now," he retorted, the playful sarcasm evident in his voice.

I replied without thinking, "Well, it wouldn't take much convincing to make me stay with you," I meant the comment to be teasing, just another remark in our light banter but as soon as the words came out, I felt my cheeks light on fire as Carlisle looked at me with the slight tilt of his head.

"Is that so?" he asked lightly, but I couldn't think of a clever way to dig myself out of the embarrassing hole I had plunged into. He looked completely unperturbed but my cheeks were still reddening with each second that passed. I couldn't take it.

Shaking my head, I forced a laugh out, looking at the ground as I clutched the items I was holding close to my chest. "Well, I should really get on those phone calls, see you around." and before he could say anything else I was already taking measured steps into the next room. I didn't exactly want to rush out of there like my body was trying to compel me to do. That wouldn't look great and would only lead Carlisle to believe I was upset and him being him would come to ask if I was alright. Right now, I just really wanted to be far away. Finding the nearest bathroom and closing the door behind me, I let myself slide down against the wooden door.

I shook my head, putting my stuff down onto the ground. What was wrong with me? I just had to go and say that. It was just a joke. I didn't really feel like that, no, I most certainly did not. It wasn't easy to be around him, and it would take more than a bit of convincing to stay with him. Then why did I say that? I'm sure he didn't take it as anything more than a joke, that's what it was. I wasn't serious. Being around him made me fluttery, nervous even, why would I want to stay around that? But I did. I did want to stay around him and I wouldn't need any convincing to be around Carlisle. It was as easy as gravity but it was also like being in space and a meteor is coming very quickly down to Earth. I didn't know what that meant.

I didn't like him, I couldn't like him. He was one of my closest friends, no, I wouldn't like him. I had only just become friendly with his daughter and I was getting involved in all of this wedding planning, that's what must be rattling my brain. The hours of not sleeping probably didn't help either.

Sucking in a breath, I stood up from the floor. I grabbed my phone, dialing the number on the notepad, I had calls to make and Carlisle to not think about.

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 **I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I had this chapter half done almost all week and it's all I could manage to write in between the numerous essays for actual classes that are due. I'm actually surprised that I was able to finish this today. Anyway, I will be updating relatively soon, I hope. Let me know what you think! Review! Read!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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"You've got to come over, I've already sketched out three different chair placements plans." Alice had been trying to convince me to come over all morning but I was already busy.

"I'm volunteering at a hospital, Alice" Her whine came through the phone and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Fine, sick children win but you need to come over afterwards."

"I will, I will, now I have to go," I said, telling her goodbye before hanging up.

I had actually forgotten about volunteering until Mr. Williams had called me, asking if I wanted to volunteer during the summer, helping out planning the children's summer harvest party that took place in late July. As soon as I got the call, I had jumped onto the bandwagon, after all I couldn't say no. A few of the other teachers would be there as well and it was only a few times a week so I'd still have lots of time to spend planning the wedding with Alice.

I truly missed being around kids and I really enjoyed the previous Saturdays that I had spent in the children's ward. It would be nice to be back. The chaos and laughter that always ensued filled my heart with spilling laughter and I couldn't think of something more that I would love to spend a day around.

Also, I had spent the last week sitting in the Cullen's living room helping Alice tape a bunch of papers to the living room walls about the wedding, calling various places and making up different plans every day. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy myself doing that, it was just starting to feel a bit stuffy. I just really needed space, from the living room of course, not Carlisle. Totally not from Carlisle. It wasn't technically avoiding someone if I was helping sick children have fun. It would just be nice to be spending time away from everyone for just a little while.

Walking into the hospital, I checked myself in, scribbling my name on the sign in board before clipping the badge to my t-shirt. It would be a fun day full of making things with children. I wondered what other teachers had signed up, I did need more bonding time with my colleagues now that I was finally going to be teaching a class of my own. I didn't need them to like me but it wouldn't be horrible having more work friends than just Kathy.

I had just walked through the doors to the children's ward when I came face to face with Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He was standing there with a paper bear taped to his white coat, his face beaming at me. This certainly put a wrench in my plans on getting away from the living room.

"Coraline, good you're here." He said coming over to me, clipboard in hand. "I've already organized this the crafts for today and all the material is set out."

I stared at him dumbly, the words going straight in one ear and out the other. "What- What are you doing here?" I asked, looking at him with a tilt of my head.

Carlisle's head tilted to match me, "I am a doctor, Coraline," he gave me a mischievous smile, the one where the corners of his mouth tilt up ever so slightly and his eyes fill with unabashed amusement. I couldn't help but feel my lips turn up slightly. "And when you said that you were going to the hospital, I volunteered to help, isn't that great?"

I nodded, swallowing back the nerves in my throat. "It's great, Carlisle." So much for spending time away.

Admittedly, the day went really well. The crafts were easy, just cutting out strips of warm colored paper and writing each child's name on a section. The children just adored Dr. Cullen, coming up to him from all sides just to talk to him and ask questions. He was very patient with them, taking the time to answer each and every one of their questions. I had watched from a distance as he had helped spread paste across the paper, getting his finger coated in the sticky substance as the children laughed on, trying to sprinkle glitter on him as well.

Throughout the entire day Carlisle and I barely interacted, focusing all of our time and energy on the kids rather than talking to one another. I actually thought that I wanted space from him, but with him there across the room, somehow this felt better. It wasn't a complete separation but it wasn't apart either. It was nice to know that he was there, laughing with the kids and getting glitter dumped on him. I had only ever seen him interact with kids for the briefest amount of time during the class field trip to the hospital and that was months ago. Now, seeing him being so open and caring with all of these kids, it was no wonder that he was such a wonderful father to all of his own adopted children. He was just such a natural at it.

By the time we had packed everything up and the kids wandered back into their rooms, Carlisle was over by the nurse's station writing something on his clipboard.

"What are you writing?"

Carlisle glanced up, giving me a small smile. "I'm just recording what we finished today, so that I know what we have to do next time."

"Next time?"

"Didn't I tell you earlier, I volunteered to help plan the summer harvest party."

"For the rest of the summer?"

He gave me a look like I had gone bonkers, I probably deserved that. "Well, the party is at the end of summer so, yes."

"Well, then I guess I'll be seeing more of you then,"

"And I'll be seeing more of you,"

I swallowed, looking at his lovely face, was this flirting? I really couldn't tell. I looked at him again and he smiled, shaking his head slightly before tapping his pen on the clipboard.

"I have to file this, I'll see you later, Coraline."

Managing to mutter a goodbye and even squeeze out a smile, I regathered myself for a moment. No, it wasn't flirting, that wasn't like Carlisle at all. He wouldn't…I wouldn't. No, it was not flirting, just things all friends say to one another, that's what I would choose to believe. It was absolutely ridiculous to think that, absolutely ridiculous, I reminded myself.

I had made it all the way to my car before I had even realized that I had left the hospital. I really must stop becoming so enraptured when it came to that friend of mine. Taking out my phone, I saw a text from Alice reminding me that I was supposed to come over after I was finished at the hospital.

With a sigh, I started on the drive there. It was farther out but in the week that I had been helping out, I had gotten used to the longer drive, it almost became calming.

When I arrived at the Cullen house, I was immediately pulled into the living room amidst the various pieces of papers that were scattered everywhere.

"You've been busy," I observed, looking at the new binders that were now lying open at our feet. I had no idea when Alice found the time to continually make binder after binder of ideas. "And I see you've finally picked out a chair arrangement." I said grinning as I picked up the sketch of the aisle.

"I drew that this morning, it's just going to be perfect." Chimed Alice, smiling with a dash of pride as I ran my fingers of the thin lines of her sketch. She always knew exactly where things would go and they always turned out beautifully. She could probably plan the entire wedding herself and it would look just grand.

Alice and I situated ourselves on the floor, handing one another different plans as we needed them, calling to make arrangements for the last fitting with Bella and her father. The wedding was only a month away and there was still so much to do and schedule. Alice insisted on nothing less than a big white wedding and that they would have. Even with all of the guests that would be at the wedding, I was sure that there would still be enough cake left over to feed a small army for a month. Alice dealt with the finances, assuring me that Edward and Bella needed the absolute best of everything and nothing below that would do. I was still worried about the cost of it all, after all since I was helping I saw most of the price tags for everything we ordered. It was not cheap.

The Cullens' were affluent people, that much was obvious but just how much money could they have? Carlisle was a doctor and I'm sure that helped but he also had a lot of children and judging by their current spending habits, money flowed by fast. I tried not to think too much about it. It wasn't my business after all. All my job was to do was be a sort of assistant to Alice as she planned the wedding.

A couple hours flew by, Alice sketching out yet another cake design to send to the baker while I tried to plea with a caterer to cater a wedding that was only a month away. I hung up the phone with an irritated huff.

"You'll find a caterer that will say yes," Alice assured, not looking up from her drawing.

I sank myself further on the floor and leaned back against their wood flooring as I stared at the ceiling. "Or we could just have a wedding with no food? Who really needs food anyway?" I said sarcastically, letting out a sigh.

"Humans, humans need food." She said lightly, smiling to herself as she added another line to her drawing.

"Yes, I suppose we do, how unfortunate." I remarked. Alice hummed in agreement, a sly smirk on her lips. I was just tired of calling catering companies only to get rejected. I swear that I had called over a dozen companies already and yet none were yielding. "You don't suppose people could bring their own food?" I asked hopefully, smiling up at Alice who gave me a roll of her eyes. How she managed to do so gracefully, I did not understand.

"It'll be fine, Coraline, you worry too much."

"Or you simply worry too little." I came back with, shifting myself so that I was propped up on my elbows. "Can I ask you a question, Alice?"

She quirked an eyebrow, "I think you just did," she replied, looking at me with a bit of amusement as I just shook my head.

"You know what I meant."

Alice sighed, shaking her head. "You take all the fun out of it, but yes, you may ask me a question."

I pushed myself up, crossing my legs like children often do before looking at Alice who was waiting patiently. "It's not that I haven't enjoyed helping you, I really have-" I glanced up, looking at Alice who gave me a look to continue. "-It's just that, you really have got everything figured out, you're always the one who knows what to say to the vendors, the one who knows what will look the best, I just don't see why you asked for my help." I finished, slightly hesitantly as I looked at her with the soft tilt of my head.

"That really wasn't a question, only the implication of one." she said, one side of her mouth pulling into a smirk.

"Alice,"

"Fine, fine-" she said, waving me off with a much too mischievous smile. "If you must know, then I just thought it'd be an opportunity to get to know you better."

"Get to know me better?" She nodded and I expected her to continue but she had already returned to her drawing with a smirk pulling at her mouth. I would have to press her further if I wanted a real answer. "Why would you want to do that?"

She looked down at me then, her golden eyes staring straight into me as her lips settled into a soft smile. I almost felt insecure as she looked at me like I was a clueless child and she was the knowing mother but I wanted to know. That is how all children sound, curiosity pouring out of their little bodies as their souls devour everything around them with a brilliant clueless bliss. However, I was not a child. I was young, certainly, but not a child.

"You're Carlisle's friend, that makes you important to me, to this family, and so it was important that I know you and you know all of us." She said finally, and I absorbed her words slowly. They were delivered with a measure of security, her words coming easily but without a pause and yet I still felt a slight refrain from the whole truth.

"Well, I am glad to know you," I said, giving her a slight smile. Despite her age, Alice seemed to be someone of great reliability, I could hardly believe she had only just graduated high school. "I'm also glad to know Carlisle, and your siblings, of course." I quickly added.

"They like you, you know." Said Alice setting aside her drawing and coming to sit opposite me on the floor. "My siblings, I mean, they like you, too."

My unconscious reaction was surprise, my eyebrows knitting together before I corrected my expression to one less abrasively shocked. "That's- that's good, I'm glad."

Alice shook her head, a smile adorning her face as she did so. "You worry too much about that."

I wasn't surprised that Alice had sensed my worry, after all she would be the one to pick up on it since we spent so much time together lately. Instead I asked the next question, hoping the answer would be no. "Was it terribly obvious?"

"There's not many people that could notice, you're only ever around me in the house, anyway."

"Yes, but Carlisle…" I didn't want him to think that I worried about such things. It would be silly of me to confide in him about his own children, at least that's what I thought anyway. Perhaps Alice would prove to be a good confidant.

"Don't worry about Carlisle."

"I will still worry about it nonetheless, I don't want him to think that I think his children don't like me-"

"We do like you" interrupted Alice.

"Thank you," I replied automatically, looking at my hands.

"We do," repeated Alice and I looked up to see her softened expression. "I'm being honest."

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair, messing any semblance of order out. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to just spring this on you, that's not fair of me."

"I want us to be friends, Coraline, I'll always be here if you need reassurance for anything."

I gave her a real smile now, "Thank you, Alice."

"Anytime, now come on, you've got more caterers to call." She said wiggling her eyebrows as she pushed herself easily back onto the couch and off the floor. I laughed, picking up the phone and following in her example pulled myself up, albeit with less grace than she did.

Alice was right, I had caterers to call. After all, what is a wedding without the food?

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 **This is way way late. I started writing this chapter the same day after I posted the last one but didn't finish it until now. It's been really busy in college and it's only going to get busier. Anyway, thought I'd at least post this chapter. Also, I know all of you are frustrated with the pace but honestly their relationship takes a while. I think that a lot of real relationships don't just appear like magic, it takes time and a whole lot of secret longing. I just don't think it'd be realistic for some daring confession of love out of the wazoo after all of this build up. Thank you all for being patient and lovely. Read and Review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC**

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The sun burned down on the sidewalks. Walking felt like a chore and everyone drew long breaths of warm air.

Town no longer held a sense of fun and distraction only further enforcing the need for air conditioning. Stores didn't mind and used the time to push products on customers in their heat crazed haze.

Most of the teens headed to the ocean or lakes, desperate for some reprieve. The older generation settled for fans and air-conditioning while they went about their daily chores and responsibilities. I almost wished for the days of spending the entire day driving out with a group of friends, heading out to find the nearest source of water, but that wasn't on the docket anymore.

My friends were locked down to jobs during the summer and I had resigned myself to staying inside. I wouldn't even think of moving more than a foot away from my fan.

I groaned as I heard the loud buzzing of my phone across the room. So much for not moving.

With some reluctance, I picked up my phone. Alice always chose the moments I least wanted to move to call.

"Hey Alice."

"So since you're doing nothing right now, how about coming over, sampling some cakes?" she suggested, and I could tell she was smiling that cheeky grin of hers.

"Isn't that Bella's job?"

"She says they all taste the same, which is absolutely no help, so you have to come and don't say you're busy because I know you're doing nothing." She really wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Okay, okay, I'll come, I'll come." I said, smiling.

I heard the slight squeal before her voice came through the phone. "Great! I'm outside."

My eyebrows shot up.

"What? Outside? Outside of my house?"

I walked over to the window in the kitchen which peaked out into the drive way. Yup, and there she was, her hand shooting up to wave at me. I gave her a smile, shaking my head.

"Yup, so come on and hurry up."

I clicked the phone off, grabbing my bag and turning off various fans as I went through my living room.

Only a few minutes later, I locked up the house and plunged into Alice's car.

"Oh thank god for AC," I said, twiddling with the units. Stepping out of the house had been like dumping lava onto my skin, my black tank top and shorts doing little to stop the rays of sun.

Alice was dressed very differently, sporting a high necked long sleeve sweater, a scarf, driving gloves, and sunglasses. It didn't seem very practical in the heat.

"I've been indoors all day and we have AC," she drew, noticing my staring.

I nodded, looking out at the town as we passed. "If only everyone were so lucky, I'm practically a puddle as soon as I step outside."

She laughed, the sound tinkling in the small space. "Well if you ever want to borrow some cool air, I always have something for you to do."

"I appreciate it."

On the way, Alice described each type of cake, the chocolate with buttercream, the vanilla with chocolate, the strawberry, the velvet, more than I could keep track of.

"I don't know how you're putting this all together in two months."

"How we're putting this together," she corrected.

I shook my head, "You're doing the majority, and I don't know how you have the energy, two minutes on the phone with the florist or caterer makes me tired for a whole week."

She shrugged, smiling. "There's something thrilling about weddings, the gowns, the people, wonderfully romantic."

"Do you think you'll get married one day?"

Her mouth quirked, a fond moment glazing over her eyes. "Yes, definitely."

Sometimes, more and more often, there were little moments, seconds really where Alice didn't seem 18. A strange fog took over her features and she morphed into someone older, stood a little straighter, eyes a little sharper. The shift was an unconscious one, like she'd forget herself, just for a moment before snapping herself out of it talking about this or that.

I shook it off, looking forward to the Cullen house as we pulled in.

It still seemed strange being so comfortable walking into the Cullen's house. A few weeks ago, I had walked around stiff as a statue.

The drapes in the house were drawn, darkening the inside from the harsh light. I was grateful, the darkness cooled the air even more.

We settled in the kitchen, Alice going around the counter to the fridge as I sat on a stool.

The plate clattered onto the counter and Alice grinned down at me as she pulled plate after plate out.

Five plates total, six slices on each plate, 35 different cakes in total.

"And Bella tried all of these?"

Alice tilted her head from side to side, smoothly sliding a fork across the counter.

"More or less."

"So less?"

"She tried a few, said she didn't like my process and said I could pick whichever one I wanted, which is a problem for obvious reasons." I quirked an eyebrow and she back peddled. "Reasons being, my palate! Yes, my palate, I had some hot coffee the other day, just about burned my tongue to shreds, could hardly eat anything, let's just start the tasting why don't we."

I hardly caught five words from her rambling but chalked it up to Alice being Alice. She pushed the first plate in front of me and pulled out a notebook and pen.

Digging into the first one, Alice asked me to describe the texture, the creamy level mixed with the consistency and flavor, if there was a smooth finish or something that left a heavy taste on the tongue. Alice scooped the rest of the cake onto a platter, saying I could only have one bite of each or else I'd get full too fast.

After each cake, she'd hand me a slice of dry bread and a small glass of water to cleanse my palate. Life couldn't get much better than trying 35 different cakes for an entire afternoon.

Alice made the process a bit more clinical and wrote every description.

"So, which are your top five?"

"The last three red velvet and the chocolate with vanilla frosting and the strawberry with vanilla, oh and the vanilla with cream cheese."

"That's six."

"Those six were just really good."

"If you had to narrow it down to two?"

"Well then why did you ask me for the top six?"

"Just in case your top two were really unfortunate," she said, all with a smile.

"The red velvet was really great but," I pushed the piece around the plate, scraping the frosting off the top, "I don't think a wedding would do well with a dark red cake with white fondant, it'd be like cutting into a barrel of blood, the colors would just clash."

Alice laughed taking away the plate of red velvet cakes and putting the other three options in front of me.

"I think we should go with the vanilla with cream cheese layers, it would have the nicest appeal when cut into and it had a good consistency and flavor, plus I'm a sucker for cream cheese."

"Are you?" the voice surprised me. I turned and saw Carlisle looking down at me with a fond smile.

After spending almost all afternoon with just Alice, I assumed he'd be at work.

I nodded, "Cream cheese frosting with just about any type of food would convince me to eat it." He moved further into the kitchen. "Do you want some cake? We have lots left over, if you're hungry that is," I offered.

He shook his head, declining.

Alice pipped up, "I'm gonna go order that cake before the bakery closes, maybe try and convince them that eight tiers isn't too much to ask for with only a month to spare."

She bounced out of the room.

Carlisle leaned against the counter, "You've been with Alice a lot lately."

"Wedding planning takes a lot of time."

"How long have you been in this kitchen?"

I shrugged, "A few hours maybe."

He smiled and shook his head, "Come on let's get some fresh air."

"But Alice-"

"She'll be fine, probably on the phone with the baker for more than an hour."

I nodded and slid off the stool, letting him lead the way to the balcony.

The sun was low in the sky, the intense heat from earlier mellowed down to a low light that shifted in waves across the hard planks of wood. Most of the area remained shrouded in shade and we settled against the railing.

"Did you work today?"

"I have a shift later tonight."

"You should be sleeping then, don't want to be tired on the job."

"I won't be, don't worry."

I looked over the balcony and starred out into the line of trees, breathing in the fresh air. It was nice to be outside. Well, outside when it wasn't nearly a hundred degrees.

"Are you going to the hospital this Saturday?" he asked.

"I am, you?"

"Of course, can't miss the kids cutting out paper leaves."

I smiled and shifted a bit closer, I could feel the cold radiating off him. It reminded me of fresh snow, the feeling of jumping into the yard on a cold morning, the red cheeks and gloved hands. Snow in the middle of summer, something impossible indeed.

Looking over, I watched his mouth tilt up in a smile as he looked over at me, his eyes flickering to mine. I looked down and watched his hands move, so precise, so measured.

A ray of sun flitted over his palm, just for a moment.

My eyebrows knitted together. A trick of the light, it had to be but I swear that just for a second, a single second, he shinned.

He saw my wide eyes, saw the confusion worm its way into my expression and he didn't say anything, just looked out at the setting sun. I moved a little closer and so did he. He let his hand drop closer to mine, the cool skin brushing against my own.

My palm closed over his, my fingers running in circles. A trick of the light, that's all it had been.

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 **Hey everybody! A lot has happened, I went to Europe, my dog died. I re-read this fic and found that I should really proof-read my writing but it just takes so much time that I don't have. I'll try to be better, really, I'll try. Sorry this is so late.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I own nothing but my OC please don't sue me**.

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Bella hadn't been involved in much of the planning, the flowers and cake all decided by Alice and I but dress fittings had to be done with the bride herself, no getting around it. Alice insisted the dress be custom made, designed with the finest fabrics and lace.

"Do you think it's too much?" asked Bella, twirling around in the tight bundle of fabric.

"No! It's just enough," exclaimed Alice, fastening the back of the dress with another pin.

I nodded, "I think you underestimate exactly how extravagant this wedding will be, trust me your dress will fit in right along with it."

The dress hugged her figure, the curves complimenting without being obnoxious. The lace detailed into the back with a line of perfect buttons came to close off the back of the dress. Classic elegance radiated off Bella, something so rare in someone of her age.

"Are you almost finished, Alice?"

"Yes, yes, just a few more pins."

I leaned over, a little closer to the bride to be, "You might be here for a little while more, she's still got about twentyish more pins."

"Oh god," Bella sighed and shook her head with a slight tilt of a smile.

"Are you excited?"

"Hm?"

"To get married, I mean."

Bella fiddled with the ring on her finger. "I am, Edward is just…Edward and he's just my everything."

"That's sweet," Young love as it is. Something so pure, so sweet, to have it seemed like a joy and Bella swelled with it.

"Coraline," Carlisle knocked on the door. "We should go soon."

"Go?" asked Bella.

"It's to the hospital," I explained. "Helping with the kids and all, I better get a move on." I gave Bella an apologetic look, sorry to leave her in Alice's clutches alone. She'd be stuck in the dress all afternoon if Alice got her way.

I left the room, saying goodbye to the two women before meeting Carlisle in the living room. Dressed impeccably as always, his dark blue shirt tucked into grey slacks, Carlisle sat in the chair to the right of the bookshelf, a book in hand.

"Sorry, were you waiting long?"

He shook his head. "Not at all, ready?"

I nodded and we made our way out to his car. I still felt out of place, silly as it might be. He was my friend, my friend and yet I was stiff. His shoulders were straight, his hands firm on the wheel and I felt helpless. How long would it take for me to be comfortable? I wasn't sure. Based on how long I'd already known him versus my level of comfort something told me it would be a while.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home?"

I shook my head, no. "Dee and I are going to get dinner after her shift ends anyway."

He nodded, going back to look at the road. I picked at the bits of string on my skirt, looking down into my lap. In all honesty, I wanted to see Dee again, it had been such a long time and I had things to talk to her about/ people to talk to her about. Nothing specific, just some advice I would appreciate her giving me.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, I couldn't help but wonder if the two of us looked strange. He, a well-liked and respected doctor, and me, a young newly promoted primary school teacher. Carlisle's hair and skin perfect under both the rain clouds in the sky and under harsh light that would make any lesser person shrivel. Not him, he made every room extraordinarily brighter. I, on the other hand, with my wind-swept hair and wrinkled skirt exuded nothing of the sort.

I shook my head, getting out of the car. We were just two friends car-pooling. People did that all the time. No need for my brain to go overthinking things after all this time.

We split ways at the door, Carlisle heading to the back rooms with a smile while I signed myself in. I'd see him later during the day, he did sign up to help plan the summer party but he did have patients to attend to.

I clipped the volunteer badge to my shirt and walked the familiar path to the children's ward. Left at the first hallway and down the corridor until the giant teddy bear pasted on the glass window grew visible.

"Coraline!"

Mr. Williams with paper flowers glued to his shirt walked over, opening the door for me.

"You're colorful today!" A little girl with a mask covering half her face followed behind him, her small hands overflowing with paper flowers.

"Would you like some flowers, too?"

I smiled down at the girl. "Of course, but I can't help but notice the empty spot on Mr. Williams right hand side, I couldn't possibly take all the flowers before you've finished with him."

I was sure Mr. Williams was glaring at the back of my head but I just turned around and smiled. He could do with more flowers, or at least that's what I told the girl as she dragged Mr. Williams back to the main area to plaster him with more.

The day passed in a whirlwind of colors, the signs painted and left out on the counters to dry while the patients retreated back to their rooms for lunch, most having their parents in with them while the volunteers milled around the main area, cleaning and hanging various pieces. My hands were covered with more than enough glitter to last a life time. I think my face looked much the same. I just had to open the giant bottles of glitter. It was probably never coming out of my hair.

"You got on as much glitter as I have."

"You'd think it'd come off with water," I rubbed my hands together, "But no, it's just spreading it around."

"I think oil is supposed to work," Mr. Vanders said, thoughtfully rubbing the glitter around on his hands.

"Really?"

He shrugged, hands rubbing together, "The internet can lie all the time."

I made it till the end of a few more hours before I started packing up my things, not even bothering to attempt to scrape off the glitter again. It would just become extra seasoning in my dinner while I ate. I hadn't seen Carlisle all day, I heard from a nurse there was an emergency patient brought in and all the doctors had been a bit preoccupied.

"Got special plans for tonight?" Mr. Vanders walked out with me, his hands equally glittery.

"Just dinner with a friend, then home." I removed my volunteer badge, placing it on the counter and waiting for him to do the same. "How about you?"

He shrugged, a hint of a laugh curling on his lip, "About the same except instead of a friend it's my dog."

"Truly excellent company, top tier."

"Coraline!" Dee's voice bounced over from behind the counter and I swiveled on my heel, Mr. Vanders still behind me. "Vanessa called said she's stuck up in Seattle, accident on the highway, won't be here for a few hours, I can't leave until then, I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "No, no, I understand, it's your job, dinner another night for sure."

"Definitely but how're you getting home?" That was a good question.

Mr. Vanders took the moment to interject. "I can take her home," I turned around, "I mean I can take you home." He corrected with a nervous smile.

"I couldn't impose."

"It's not an imposition, the only thing waiting for me at home is a spoiled dog and cold left overs, you're not imposing."

"If you're sure."

"Of course, so it's decided."

Dee shot Mr. Vanders a grateful look, saying she was sorry for canceling before bouncing off to the back.

"Thank you," I did feel grateful, it was already getting dark and I didn't want to walk at night. It was rather disappointing to think I'd have to wait for advice from Dee, if we even ever got around to rescheduling once the school year returned and both our lives got busier.

We walked out to his car, talking about the kids, the various interesting mixes of parents who seemed both happy and astounded by the state of their children by the end of the day. His car was similar to mine, a little old but still in good condition, a teacher's car for sure as evident by the various pieces of paper strewn across the seats.

"Ready for the school year?" I asked, skimming across a piece of paper I picked up from the seat before settling into the warmth of the interior.

"It's all kind of ready and yet not in any way prepared, but in general I tend to stick to the same pattern of lessons."

I smiled, "I'd like to say I understand but it'll be my first year."

He nodded his head, driving out of the parking lot and onto the main road. "I keep forgetting you're a newbie."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

Nodding, almost too seriously, "It was one." The corner of his mouth tilted in a smile before breaking with a laugh.

I told him the turns and streets to go down, guiding him toward my house. The car spanned with warmth from the heater, a nice contrast to the outside temperature as the sun went lower and lower in the sky.

He turned into my gravel driveway, a laugh spilling out of his mouth on time with my own. Conversation flowed easily and I couldn't help but look forward to the start of the school year. It was always nice to have new acquaintances.

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 **Did I procrastinate on putting this out? Yes, yes, I did. I do have a plan for this story in my head. I know that there seems to be a lot of loose threads but I promise that there is a plan and I just want things to progress naturally but also, I want to lock them in a closet and say forget character development. I mean as the writer I could technically write that but the logical part of my brain always wins out with the idea of a natural progression for the relationship (as there should be with any relationship both platonic and non-platonic).**

 **I do actually like this chapter even if nothing super plot driven happens because I think emotionally it's important at least for me. It might be different for people who didn't write it and know where my brain was with this.**

 **Please Read and Review! The reviews really encourage me through writing slumps haha.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, I don't own twilight.**

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"I don't think that's the right color," Alice held her thumb out, twisting it to the side as she assessed the dress I pulled from my closet. She insisted that although I wasn't in the wedding, that I attend in nothing less than a perfect dress. The dress I picked was one I had worn before, just a regular blue dress that tied around the waist. "It's just so," she searched for the word, biting at the nail of her thumb, "blue."

"It is a blue dress."

"But it's too blue."

"Too dark?"

She nodded moving backwards on the bed and tucking her legs underneath her.

"What about this grey one?" I pulled it out to show her. I had worn it to my college graduation ceremony under my gown.

"Do you not have any other dresses?"

"I have that green one I wore to your graduation party."

She shook her head, "Absolutely not, plus Rosalie's dress is already grey."

"Well then I've run out of formal dresses."

"How did I know this would happen," she smiled wide, "Good thing, I've already got some dresses for you to try."

"What?" It was too late. Alice had already bounced out of my room and into her car. She was back in record time, bags of dresses in hand.

"I've got some options, just in case."

"Did you order these?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

She nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, I sort of guessed around with your measurements so that's why I have options."

I was lost in a flood of dresses, each one different. I had a new respect for Bella to have put up with Alice for the hours and hours of dress fittings. Not that Alice was hard to deal with, it's just she was Alice and everything had to be perfect.

"I think I like this one." I said looking at myself in the mirror across the bed. It was the fifth one from the bags, a lighter than lilac dress with a silver almost lace trim around the bottom and at the sleeves.

"I agree, I somehow knew you'd choose that one."

"Of course, you did. You know everything, Alice." At my words, a sly smile slid across her face and she nodded.

"I do indeed."

"I'm gonna go change," I called out, walking into my bathroom. I twirled one time in front of the mirror, watching the skirt flair out around me. I felt like I was ten years old and playing dress up with a friend on a playdate, again. It seemed trivial, almost, picking out dresses, worrying about colors. Maybe it was. But somehow, I didn't mind it, I didn't mind it, the family, the wedding planning, the dresses, and the colors.

I stripped out of the dress and back into my jeans and ruffled white blouse. When I came back out, Alice was sat on the bed, a book in her hand and her eyes fixed on the page. She closed it when she looked up at me, smiling almost with a question.

I beat her to it, "Found a good book?"

"Just flipping through one I found," she said, holding it almost protectively against her chest, now. I looked closer. It was the gift from Joe.

"Oh, that was a gift," I said, placing the dress on a hanger as I spoke. "from Joe, down at the bookstore, haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

"Oh," she almost sounded relieved. "Are you planning to?"

I shrugged, folding some of the other dresses we had cast aside earlier and put them back in the bags. "Eventually probably, I've been busy with everything else, I keep meaning to start it, hence why it's on my night stand."

She nodded, placing it back in the spot where she found it, her hand lingering across it just for a moment longer before she fully released it.

Alice turned back to me, a smile placed back on her face. Suggesting we go back to her house, Alice bounced around the room, finishing gathering the rest of the bags to take back into the car before I was even ready with my bag.

By the time we got to the house it was already mid-morning, a cloudy mid-morning. Summer was slowly edging out from the Washington sky. There were a few sunny days here and there but they were far and few between. I'd been spending most of my time split between the hospital and with Alice, the rest of my time dedicated to lesson planning. My living room was wrecked with stick notes, the color-coded system I devised looked more like a hurricane now than a plan.

When Alice had seen it, she had just politely said "colorful" before walking away.

I just needed things to be laid out, everything in front of me. If it wasn't in front of me then I couldn't possibly figure anything out. I'd forget one plan and change it to the next. That wouldn't bode well with Kathy. She'd shake her head and give me that evil look of hers. It was a look that inspired fear in all students and colleagues alike, Kathy could kill with that look.

"Hey!" Alice voice snapped me from my thoughts and I turned my head.

"Hm?"

"This one or this one?" She held up two purple dresses to her small frame. They were both gorgeous and would flatter her either way.

I decided to just point to one of them, "That one."

She nodded, "I thought so too."

After picking out her dress, we went back to her living room, grabbing the clipboards full of plans and receipts. I was almost afraid to look at the cost. Alice seemed unfazed, as if the stacking costs were like drops of water in an ocean. It amazed me to feel that freely about money. I would hate to be the Cullen's accountant.

"Did you want the white or the beige flowers on the cake? The baker's asking because the florist sent a sample and he says it clashes with the green."

Alice's eyes went wide, and I knew to hand her the phone. When it came to setting people straight, Alice was just very good at it. She moved around as she spoke, going into the next room. Her soft bell like voice moved through the walls and I could still vaguely hear her but I turned back to checking things off the lists.

I heard someone come down the stairs and looked up: Rosalie. I had seen her in passing a few times, when I was on the phone or as she was leaving. She never made an overt effort to reach out to me like some of the others did. Edward had always stopped, had a conversation with me when he saw me. We'd exchange a few words before he'd be out the door.

Edward wasn't all that bad. He was sort of creepy, just a bit. He was a nice kid, a real nice kid. It's just he was also a bit creepy, he'd look at me like he'd expected the words before I said them. I mean Alice did that too sometimes but it seemed so much weirder when Edward did it, and the way he stared, it was like he was looking into my head, sharing in my thoughts.

Rosalie looked at me and I smiled a bit, waving my hand out behind my clipboard. I'll admit it, she scared me. She was intimidating. All of the Cullen's sort of were. Alice less so, but even she had her moments.

"Still wedding planning?" Her smooth tone wafted over and I was almost completely surprised. It was the first time she had ever made an effort to speak to me.

I nodded, "Yup, but mostly the finer details now, a lot of the bigger details have already been wrapped up."

Rosalie nodded and looked down at me, her golden eyes looking at me straight. "That's good then. Edward deserves a nice wedding."

"Alice said the other day that you're going to be playing the piano?"

Again, she nodded, almost hesitantly stepping a bit further into the room, not quite past the edge of the doorway. "Edward can't play during the wedding because he's the groom. I don't mind helping Edward."

I smiled at the thought, "It's really nice that you're so supportive of your brother and impressive you can play the piano. I tried when I was younger, took six years of lessons and still can't remember one note from the other."

"Diligent practice, that's all it takes."

"I've never been able to hold down a hobby, always bouncing around from one thing to the next."

Her head moved ever so slightly. She wasn't frowning at me nor was she smiling, it was something in between.

"Is that because of indecisiveness or just a lack of focus?" The question almost seemed rude but I didn't want to think of it like that.

Instead I gave her a smaller smile, "I think it's the focus, definitely the focus."

"How does that translate over with your students?" Carlisle or Alice must have told her about my job. I didn't mind it.

"I think it's more of a lack of focus in my personal life rather than my work life."

"But say if you were to have children," she paused, almost like she was getting to the question she really wanted to know, "Do you want children?"

I knew my eyes were widened with surprise and I opened my mouth to answer but no words came out.

"What're you guys talkin' about?" Alice walked in and I closed my mouth.

Rosalie answered before I could, "I was just checking in on the wedding planning before I left."

Alice raised an eyebrow and Rosalie looked her, an innocent look on her beautiful face.

She said goodbye before walking out of the room fully and then out of the house. I breathed out as I heard the front door close.

"So, did I save you?" laughed Alice, sitting down on the other side of the couch.

"I didn't mind Rosalie, I would have answered her question, I just wasn't prepared for it."

Alice looked more interested, "Really?"

"I mean sure." I looked down at my papers, checking off a few boxes as I figured the conversation was over.

Alice moved over slightly, angling herself toward me. "So, what is your answer?"

"Huh?" I hadn't even been sure she'd heard the full question, being as she was in the other room while Rosalie and I were talking.

"Do you want to have kids?" Alice and Rosalie seemed much more alike than they let on.

"Maybe adopt a few in the future, someday down down the line, if at all. I work with kids all day, I don't know if it's in the cards to raise my own."

"Adopt?" Alice seemed surprised.

"I can't physically have them myself," her face shifted from curious to shocked before she schooled her features back to normal. "I've known since I was in middle school, it's really just something that you adjust to the idea of."

"I'm sorry," I think I could see the genuine regret of asking on her face, as most people had when they asked. I didn't mind it. There wasn't anything wrong with talking about it.

"It's really alright, I work with more than enough kids to get my fill of them."

"Still, I'm sorry for prying."

I laughed, "It's really alright, really really."

She cracked a smile at that. I changed the subject, asked about how the cake decorator went. Alice was more than happy to launch into a full rant about the incompetency of some people because of course she didn't want orchids on the cake, and the beige didn't match at all.

We were just about finished with the entire wedding, only a few more things to get organized but most of that would be taken care of during set up, something Alice insisted we didn't need to hire people to help with. Even will all the layout plans, I doubted the family alone would be able to set everything up in time but I trusted that Alice had a plan. It was Alice after all.

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 **Just wrote this and didn't proof read, I'm thinking about getting a beta but idk who would want to read through my very late chapters haha. Sorry for the lateness of this. I wasn't going to update today but I've been seeing the comments and was like "okay I'll write something because all of you all are amazing."  
Also, I know that some of you are going to comment about the whole not being able to have kids thing but honestly, it's really been in the character design from the beginning but I figure it wouldn't completely change who she was as a person. Yes, it effects people differently, I know I might not be able to have kids because of health issues and that's fine, it doesn't change who people are so I didn't want some big build up to the reveal.  
Anyway, comment and tell me how you like the new chapter and tell me what you think! Thank you for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, I just write fanfiction for fun**

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"I've been thinking…"

"Mm?" Carlisle glanced up at me, his eyes flickering over to me while he filled out something in a chart. We were standing at the nurse's station. I had just finished up my day of volunteering.

"I've been thinking that I'm very hungry and you must be very hungry and so we can do something about that by going to get something to eat."

His eyes glanced up from his papers and he tiled his head in my direction. I saw a flicker of a smile before he shook his head, "Sorry, I can't, I'm covering Dr. Monty's shift and won't be leaving till almost 10."

"Oh," I was surprised, usually he'd tell me when he was working an extra shift, or this or that. "Goodnight, then."

I turned around with my bad slung over my shoulder, my heart twisting uncomfortably in my chest as I walked out. I hadn't seen him in a while, things weren't like before at the bookstore. We were always surrounded by people, always lots and lots of people. I hadn't had enough time to even tell him about my new lesson plans or about how Alice and I were getting along.

Sure, he and I got quick moments together, maybe a moment here or then in the car but it wasn't the same. It really wasn't the same.

"Coraline"

I turned around, I knew it wasn't Carlisle. Carlise's voice could ring in the back of my head, this one didn't but I turned anyway.

"Mr. Vanders, what's up?"

"A few of us are going out to eat, if you wanna join us."

I smiled, "No, it's alright, I think I'm a bit tired and I'm just gonna head home."

"Of course," he gave me a friendly smile. "Have a goodnight."

I walked out of the building, heading to my car. Maybe I should have gone with them, gotten to know more people. Maybe I should have. I pushed the thought away, figuring that I could spend my night going over things for the summer harvest party at the hospital. I still needed to finish making some of the posters and I needed to finish up more lesson plans before the term started.

My home was a mess, I had only spread out more and more papers on the floor of my living room and glitter glue was sticking to the carpet. It was my brilliant idea to use glitter glue, now I'd be finding it for months even after I cleaned. I mean this was one way to spend a night, sprawled out on the floor, cutting bits of paper into leaf shapes and pasting it onto more paper.

I had changed into a big shirt, one I had used to paint the living room last summer, and even washed and dried, it was still covered in dried glomps of white paint. I'm sure my face was covered in a combination of glue and purple and orange glitter.

I heard a knock at the door and I stood to go look through the peephole, I mean it was almost 11pm on a Thursday, who would be coming. Before I went over to the door, I looked out the kitchen window, seeing whose car was in the driveway. It was Carlisle, I knew what his car looked like.

I opened the door, greeted by his smiling face, my own scrunched in confusion, "What're you doing here?"

"I knew you were awake and I brought you dinner." He held up a paper bag and I arched an amused eyebrow.

"I ate dinner five hours ago," I laughed, I suddenly felt very aware that I looked like a mess and he was still standing outside and my door was letting cold air in. "Come in, come in."

"Okay, well it isn't really dinner, it's mostly ice cream but I didn't know what you wanted so I got five different kinds," the way he rubbed the back of his neck when he said it flooded me with warmth against the chill in the air.

I took the bag from him, looking inside. I broke out in a laugh, "You bought five different tubs of ice cream, five different kinds."

His eyes glittered in the dull kitchen light, "I did."

"Come on," I stopped laughing, still smiling at him on the other side of the counter, "Since you're here then I can use help finishing my banner project."

"Banner project?" he asked as I shoved the bag of ice cream into the freezer.

I nodded, walking to the living room, him following behind me, "Did you think I just looked like a mess for no reason?" I saw his eyes widen at the state of my living room. "I know, I know, I'm gonna clean it tomorrow."

"Is this all your 'banner project'?"

"Well, more or less, in that corner," I pointed to the edge by the couch and the wall opposite the dining room, "That's a lot of my lesson planning I'm configuring."

He nodded, looking at the glitter covered floor, "How can I help?"

I smiled, "Glad you asked," I dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged and looked at him expectantly to which he followed in suit, sitting across from me and rolling up the sleeves. "I'm making the banner for the summer party, I know the kids are supposed to do it but so far they've made nothing and the party is next week so I'm taking some liberties, what I need you to do is start cutting leaves while I continue gluing."

"Got it."

I watched him for a few moments, it was almost funny seeing him here, seeing him cutting out little leaves. He was focused on the task but he looked up to meet my eyes when he noticed my stare and I smiled shaking my head.

"Oh! I'll get you an apron," I popped up from the floor, crossing back into the kitchen. I brought out with me the plainest apron I could find. It was grey, larger and tied in the back with black and white ruffles sewed onto the side. "Here," I tossed it into his lap.

"Where's yours?"

"I'm already wearing my painting shirt," I laughed, watching him put the apron around his neck before tying it around his waist. "So, I don't need an apron."

"How do I look?"

I couldn't help laughing, doubling over and shaking my head. "You look great, the frills really bring out your eyes."

"So, you do look at my eyes?"

I smiled, letting out a short laugh, "Come on, let's just get started."

We worked in relative silence, occasionally I directed him to add more glitter here or there but he was doing well. His drawing was impeccable, freehand too, if only I could be that talented with a pen. I thought if him being a doctor made his drawings so accurate, all the leaves he'd pen out were perfect, then he traced them over with glitter a little less perfectly, but it was an endearing challenge, to watch him struggle with a glitter pen. It made him seem a bit more human, bring him down to earth from the unintentional pedestal I had put him on.

My hand began to cramp after cutting out around fifty or so fake oval shaped leaves to paste onto the banner Carlisle was working on decorating.

I put the scissors down next to me, pushing the paper out of my lap and standing with a bounce. "Do you want ice cream? I'm gonna take a dessert break," I offered, smiling as I went to the kitchen.

"No, I'm alright, they're all for you."

"Are you sure?" I called back, scooping out cookies and cream into a bowl. Carlisle once again refused and I shrugged to myself, maybe he just wasn't in the mood for dessert or maybe he just didn't like ice cream. Come to think of it, I never really asked him what he liked to eat, maybe I could cook for him one day.

I made my way back to the living room, coming to sit in the same spot I was at before. Carlisle was still there, trying to ever so gently trace his lines with glitter.

"So, what kind of dessert do you like?"

He didn't look up to answer, focused on his task, "I'm not really a dessert person."

I faked offense, "How are we even friends!" I shoved spoonsful of ice cream into my mouth before asking another question, "What kind of food do you like then?"

He smiled, shaking his head, "I wouldn't say I have a favorite."

"How boring," I said, teasing him further. I smiled into my ice cream, finishing the rest of the bowl while watching his hands move over the papers and go so gently as if it weren't colorful cardstock but tissue paper that would rip at the slightest movement.

We managed to finish everything in just a few hours, minutes before 2am. I couldn't help yawning as we set the sheets of paper carefully around the living room to dry.

Carlisle didn't even look tired, his hair was still in perfect place, his clothes almost wrinkle free and paint free thanks to the apron. What a contrast we made.

"Well, I should get going, leave you to sleep."

"You should sleep, too, once you get home that is." I said walking through the kitchen and moving little things around as he folded the apron and placed it on the counter. "You must be tired, a full shift at the hospital and then helping me with this, thank you by the way."

He shook his head, "I said I would help and I'm signed up for helping with the summer party."

"I know, there's still so much to do for the party but I think we finished most of the decorating, the kids will be happy."

"You're one of their favorites."

I laughed at that, "Definitely not, maybe in their top ten but I think Mr. Williams is their favorite, he's been doing it the longest, can't beat age and experience."

"I suppose you can't," he said.

"And thank you for the ice cream," I added, turning to face him while leaning against the counter.

"It was my pleasure."

I had finished everything there was to do in the kitchen and the world seemed quiet now. Even outside, nothing made a noise except for the quiet buzz of the night time bugs. It made the world smaller somehow, almost stopping time or at least slowing it. I didn't know what to say next, and he didn't say anything more, just looked at me from across the kitchen for a few silent moments.

Moments flashed behind my eyes, us dancing in his kitchen, the music in the background. I remembered his eyes and his cold hands holding mine, they felt like ice and stone and yet they made my skin tingle with a vibrant electricity. I jerked myself back from the thought, physically pushing myself further back against the counter. I felt a damn of nervousness break and I struggled to keep my eyes with his own.

"I—I don't want to keep you too long, you should get some sleep," I sputtered out, moving my eyes away from his but forcing a smile on my lips. "I'll probably see you tomorrow anyhow, Alice wants me to come over."

He nodded, taking a step toward the door and opening it with the turn of his wrist on the handle. As he moved farther away, I made myself go to the door, despite the welling of nervousness still in my chest.

I waved at him from the doorway and he gave me a slight tilt of his head but didn't say anything, just waving back before getting in his car. I closed the door, locking it behind me as I heard his car start, and the gravel in the driveway shift as he drove away.

The nerves in my chest were still there, hammering away at my heart. I couldn't stop remembering him, how he smiled, how he laughed, how his voice carried through a room.

Well, crap, maybe I do like him.

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 **Haha so I've updated, I've actually had the majority of this chapter written since the day after I posted the last chapter but needed to finish like the last 100 words or so. Anyhow, tell me what you think about this about this chapter! Comments are very motivating, and I appreciate all the feedback I get and it helps me get an idea of what i should do next. :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight**

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The summer harvest party consisted of far too much sugar, streamers of varying colors, paper masks glued with strings in the back, and the banner I hung in the front. Kids were sitting around, tired from the excitement of the initial party and settling into the calm.

Carlisle was across the room, talking to one of the parents, he looked so official in his white coat and clipboard in hand. I smiled slightly before ducking my eyes downward, it wouldn't do any good. I couldn't avoid him, I had already done that before and it was childish, absolutely childish. But wasn't just waiting around and pining for someone just as useless.

In a situation of fight or flight, I'd always choose flight but this time I didn't run, I stayed put. I stayed and I continued to smile at him, continued talking lightly with him when we saw each other around. It was torture. Before I could pretend-pretend that I didn't like him and avoid it at all costs but now it was so forcefully present in my mind. I couldn't think of any excuses not to just adore him.

I didn't want to be one of those girls, one of the girls just waiting for him to glance in their direction but I was and it took every logical part of my brain not to just run from that feeling. It was different, wasn't it? I mean with those other girls he didn't smile like he did when he and I talked, right? Or maybe I just wasn't around when he did. He did say I was his only friend once, emphasis on friend. But we were dancing in his kitchen at the graduation party and it felt like I would explode, his hands were so cold but they sent sparks over my skin.

I twirled the engraved pen between my fingers, everything was confusing. I didn't want to be overly presumptuous but I didn't want to be blind to the things that he did do for me and with me.

Ugh, I shook my head, I wasn't going to become one of those girls who went moony over a boy. I glanced up again at Carlisle and this time he turned his head, giving me a small smile before returning to his conversation with the other adult. I felt my cheeks go a little pinker and I shook my head again. Okay, maybe I was one of those girls who went absolutely moony.

I returned back to cleaning up the remnants of the mess, helping some of the others with white trash bags. The small party had settled down more and the kids were back to their rooms after an hour or so more, some of them going to each other rooms, while others had their families keeping them company.

The group of volunteers had decided to go out for dinner afterwards, something I had invited Carlisle to but he had declined, saying he still had a few things to wrap up. The dinner had gone well, Mr. Williams had far too much to drink at the small restaurant and Mr. Vanders had taken him home to his wife at the end of the night. That was about as wild as the group of us got. I had stuck with a glass of apple juice alongside my dinner.

I got home only to flop myself on my bed, I still had to shower. I showered quickly, washing out much of the glitter out of my hair and into the drain, changing into a night shirt and shorts before going back to bed and curling up underneath the covers. I stared at the ceiling fan, watching as it lazily looped in a circle before doing another and another.

My mind started to drift back into thinking about Carlisle, it was so annoying that not wanting to think about something only makes someone think about it more. How unfair is that. I groaned, rolling onto my side. I just needed to be distracted.

My eyes caught sight of the book lying innocently on my bedside table, the thick leather-bound book Joe gave me. Maybe that would help, reading someone that had nothing to do with Carlisle.

I started on the first few pages. The book was old, the pages turned a beige-brown color and creased along the edges. It had probably come from the back, Joe always kept a whole shelf of old editions in there and I had seen him more than once spend an entire shift pouring through them.

It was like some of the other books from the shop I had briefly read through, except the words were a bit older, the vocabulary a bit denser. Someone had scribbled notes in some of the corners, I could only assume Joe had done that. The book had followed through a few legends relating to Forks, the notes in the margins elaborating somewhat on specific locations or years. The ink from the righting was smudged in some places, the words hard to make out in others. It wasn't an easy read but it was interesting. The creatures seemed more and more like humans, but they weren't, "like frozen marble" Joe had written in the corner.

Frozen marble, what a cold and unforgiving description, I mused. Joe was always going on about the unknown, about creatures that didn't exist. I didn't mind. It didn't do any harm to believe in the impossible. I closed the book with a small smile, marking my page with a receipt I pulled out of the drawer. I had only gotten about twenty-pages in to the over 500-page book. I'd finish it some other time, probably when I had the time which was almost never now days. At least reading had temporarily distracted me from thinking about Carlisle.

I pulled the covers up over me, flicking off the lamp with one hand.

Of course, I dreamed of Carlisle, because my brain hates me and doesn't listen and to top it all off I'd probably see him today. Alice had been getting more and more insistent as the date of the wedding approached. Now, with the harvest party done, and the wedding a couple weeks away she insisted that I devote more time to wedding planning. Sometimes I just thought the world hated me for consistently ensuring I face or do whatever I didn't want to at the moment. But maybe it was a good thing, maybe if I just faced it then I'd get over it and stop thinking about it.

I hoped that was true and I repeated the thought on the drive to the Cullen's house in the woods. Alice was already opening the door before I could even knock, she had a good knack for knowing when people were at the door.

"Come on in," she said holding the door open as Coraline swept in, her bag over her shoulder. "We're two weeks out now from the big day."

"Is Bella nervous?"

Alice shook her head, "I don't think it's hit her yet, or if it has she's more worried about other things."

I dropped my bag on one side of the couch, plopping down in an open section of the couch that wasn't taken over by Alice's various decoration pieces or stray papers. "She still worried about that friend of hers?"

Alice had briefly given me the run-down of the boy drama going on a few weeks prior, it was all rather silly in my opinion. One of her friends, who was so obviously in love with her had run off out of town once he got wind of the wedding. It threw Bella into a cloud of worry, which I couldn't blame her for but still, wasn't it a bit melodramatic to cause such a tizzy over a wedding on her friend's part but I was new to the story, I didn't have all the details, only what Alice had told me.

Sometimes it felt like I was missing large pieces of a greater story, missing why some things were so important. It didn't make sense to me but I let it slide, it wasn't my business, I wouldn't stick my nose in something that wasn't mine to know.

Alice and I worked separately for the first few hours, I was organizing the mess of papers while Alice did something across the room that I'm pretty sure had something to do with guest attendance.

The invitations had gone out a little over a month ago and Alice had been diligently checking the mail ever since for RSVP cards, we were still getting them, even now so close to the wedding date.

I thought my eyes were going to go cross eyed from looking at all of the papers for so long and I stood up, stretching my arms upward before padding my way into the kitchen, pulling my jacket closer around me. It was always so cold in their house, even though outside was still filled with warm summer air. I learned to always pack a jacket when I would be going over to their house.

Once in the kitchen I grabbed the tea kettle from the cabinet. I had asked a month ago if they had one and Alice had shaken her head, no, but a day later she presented me with one. I had brought over a couple boxes of tea, but no one else really liked tea. I had offered it to them more than once, and I always kept a note taped to the front of the tea saying they could have some.

I filled the kettle with water, watching it tiredly as it began to make faint bubbling noises. I turned to get the cup from the cabinet, only to see Rosalie there, standing just a few feet away.

I jumped a bit in surprise, putting my hand over my heart, "You scared me," I exclaimed, feeling my heart rate slowly calm down, "Do you want some tea?"

She shook her head, "I just wanted to ask how the wedding planning was going." The words were clipped, like she had to take special care in saying them.

I smiled brightly back at her, "It's going great, almost everything's ready, are you ready for your piano solo?"

She nodded sharply, the movement coming out graceful even without trying. "Of course."

She had a severe confidence, and combined with her breathtaking looks it was enough to make me intimidated by the girl in front of me. We wouldn't be so far apart in age, maybe a few years if anything, she having graduated the year prior but even she seemed so much older like all the Cullen children.

I could feel her staring at me as I poured the water over my tea bag, and I looked up, giving her another smile, waiting for her to talk. When she didn't, I searched for something of a conversation.

"So," I started, blowing on the hot tea, "How's Emmet?"

She gave me an odd look, like she'd been surprised for just a moment before she answered. "He's fine, why?"

I shook my head, shrugging with a small smile, "Just making conversation."

"Oh." She seemed thoughtful, and then she nodded, as if deciding on something, "I should get going, but this was pleasant." The words seemed strange coming from her, and even she looked contemplative saying them but she finished with a small smile.

Maybe there was hope for us all yet.

Rosalie left with a turn, out of the kitchen and I headed back towards Alice, holding the warm mug in my cold hands.

Alice was sitting cross-legged on the floor, moving papers around the coffee table. She glanced up to me when I sat down on the couch.

"Rosalie likes you, you know."

"You think so?"

She nodded, "I know so."

"Did she tell you that?"

Alice shook her head, "I just know."

I shook my head, "Of course you do."

Alice shrugged, smiling at me like I was a silly child, "We _all_ like you."

I felt my lips quirk at the ends, a grin spreading across my face.

"Thank you, Alice. Now, tell me about what you've done since I was gone."

Alice quickly went straight into her progress, excitedly explaining the differences in certain colors and why the little changes mattered. I half-listened as I smiled down at her from the couch.

 _They like me._

* * *

 **I am sorry. I've had this chapter written for over a month but I always forgot to publish it because I got distracted. I was in a car accident, just a lot has happened in the past two months. I've also been watching an inordinate amount of Bon Apetit videos. They just have such a wonderful staff and I love them all so much even though I don't know them. Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter! I hope you guys like it.**

 **Also, I read every comment, every single one. I appreciate almost all of them haha**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: Please don't sue me, I only write fanfiction. Twilight isn't my property.**

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The wedding. Well, the wedding weekend.

I never actually thought the wedding day or even the weekend would ever come with how much planning and time it took to get it all organized. All Bella and Edward had to do was show up.

Bella had been slightly difficult about the dress fittings, and the heels but Alice had tried to set her straight. She only looked like she was going to fall over 50% of the time with the four inch heels rather than 100% of the time. Progress was progress and we took what we could get.

Alice had been bouncing around the entire weekend, and I'd been sent on multiple errands around town trying to gather last minute items Alice insisted they needed. The whole Cullen family helped in setting up the wedding and by the time I got back they'd be completely finished with all the hard work. I had asked Alice if we needed to hire people for set up, seeing as how big she wanted the wedding to be but she waved me off, saying that all we needed was each other. I had almost been relieved when I came back and almost everything was finished.

"Did you get everything?" asked Alice, bouncing over to me, her eyes far too bright for such a busy day.

I nodded, handing over the shopping bags in my hand for her to inspect. Satisfied, she yelled something about going to lay the napkins out in the back as she skipped off. I shook my head, looking around for where Carlisle had gone off to. I saw him earlier before I'd left on Alice's errand so I knew he was around here somewhere.

I spotted him moving benches around for the ceremony, along with Emmet and Jasper, Alice popping up a few minutes later to boss them around even further. I shook my head, leaving them to their bickering. Not wanting to interfere I made my way back into the house.

"Oh, Bella, how did the high heel practice go?"

She shook her head, "Not good, still don't get the point of them. They're against me, the shoes, I just know it."

"The shoes are not plotting against you," I laughed.

"They are!" she insisted, glaring at the heels as if they had committed a personal offense.

"I'm telling you, tomorrow I'm going to be walking down the aisle and trip flat on my face."

"And that's why you're supposed to practice." I chirped back to her, a smile on my face.

She let out a sigh, "I will, I will."

"Nervous?"

"As always," sighed Bella, leaning against the counter before she straightened, shaking her head, "But I know it's alright, I know it's gonna be alright."

"It will, just think, you'll be married in twenty-four hours and you get to spend the rest of your years with the person you love, that's all that matters."

"Do you think you'll ever get married?"

I shrugged, "Maybe one day, if I meet the right person."

Her interest piqued at that, "And you haven't met the right person yet?"

I was a little taken aback, a blush rising to my cheeks as I tried to push all romantic notions out of my head, "Well, I wouldn't know, it's not something…No one knows who they'll end up with until they do." I said, trying to fight past the heat in their cheeks.

"Well, then how do you know if you're meant to be with someone if you don't know until you end up with them?"

"Not thinking of being a runaway bride, are you?" I asked, the pinkness in my cheeks fading away as I teased her.

She shook her head, "No, no, never. I was just wondering."

"Then, I'm afraid I don't know, I've never been in love, all my advice is theoretical or comes from online articles and books. I also think all of my advice and logic contradicts itself so I'm really no help."

Bella laughed at that, "You've really never been in love?"

"No, not all of us are so lucky to meet the person they'll marry in high school," I teased with a smile.

"Very true, but you'll find it, I'm sure of that." And she said it with a tease in her voice, the nerve. "Well, I have to get going, beauty sleep and all." She said, bypassing that it was only mid-afternoon.

I turned to say goodbye to Bella but when I did, Carlisle was coming up behind me.

"Oh, did you finish outside?"

He shook his head, "Alice is still out there bossing everyone around."

"And you escaped?"

Carlisle nodded, "Exactly right. Are you ready for the wedding?"

"Me? I'm not the one getting married," I laughed, leaning back against the counter.

He nodded, "Yes, but you did help plan it, you'll get to see all your work come to life."

"Alice did most of it, I just made phone calls and lists," I insisted, shaking my head.

Carlisle gave me a look, like I had exasperated all of his attempts at compliments, "You don't give yourself enough credit."

I shook my head, "I doubt that, you wouldn't want to see me overconfident and pompous, it does happen from time to time. I'm just a monster, an absolute monster."

He smiled at that, "I'd love to see monster Coraline, she sounds like a delight."

"Oh, really now?" I asked, a tease in my voice and a laugh on my lips.

"Really, really." He was looking at me again with those eyes that should not be allowed to sparkle so damn much. It gave him too much power, absolutely shook me to the core with those golden eyes.

I couldn't hold his gaze any longer without blushing and so I looked down to the floor, letting my hair fall slightly in front of my face, just to hide a bit more even if he could still see me.

"Are you ready for the wedding?" I asked, changing the subject, "You are the father of the groom."

He nodded, "Edward will make a good husband and Bella will make a good wife and I know they'll be happy."

"You're very sure."

"I think some things are just inevitable," he said simply, tilting his head ever so slightly. "Sometimes people are inevitable."

I looked up at that, taking him in, "You think so?"

Again, he nodded, "Of course. You don't think so?"

"I never thought of it, not like that. I always thought life was a serious of pathways, a series of turns and that no matter what turn you take there is no right one, it's only a continuation of the path you chose to take." I explained.

He smiled, "A series of pathways," he repeated, "That's not a bad way to think."

"Thank you? I think, I don't know if that's a compliment," I laughed.

"Of course, it's a compliment, it's always a compliment with you."

"What?"

Shaking his head, he smiled at me, "Nothing. I should get back before Alice comes and drags me back out and you should go home, get some rest or Alice will have you here all night and you'll have had no sleep before meeting everyone tomorrow."

His words stopped me just before I was about to agree with him, "Meet everyone?"

"Well, of course, you've seen the guest list, you'll be meeting the extended family at the wedding." He said it like he'd thought I'd already considered that, like I'd actually processed that information weeks ago but I hadn't actually thought of any of that. I hadn't even stopped to think about meeting anyone. It's just a wedding, I had thought naively.

"Oh, right." I think the slight panic must have been evident on my surprised and slightly terrified expression.

Carlisle stepped closer, just a bit. "I'll be with you the whole time."

I looked up, into those eyes and shook my head, "No, I'll be fine, trust me, plus I'm sure I'll just shake their hand and then that'll be the end of it, it'll be fine." I said, more to reassure myself than anything else. "They probably won't be all that interested in me anyway, I mean they're your family and I'm just assistant to the wedding planner." I joked, trying to ease a little of the nerves that were building in my chest.

Carlisle looked a little amused, and shook his head. "They're probably going to want to talk to you, more than just a little."

"They are?" My throat felt like it was constricting.

He nodded, "They are."

"Why?"

He opened his mouth and then closed it before reopening it again, "Because you're important to me."

"I am?" The question came out automatically, like my mouth knew the words before my brain could stop them.

He looked at me like I was ridiculous, like I had gone absolutely and completely mad, "How could you not be." I looked at him, really looked at him, my heart racing in my own chest and words bouncing through my head but I couldn't find any sense to piece them together and when Carlisle turned to leave, saying something about going to find Alice, I still stood there looking at the spot he'd once occupied.

Important to him, the words ran through my head, and the images of him saying them replayed in the dark corners of my mind, like a record, spinning and spinning.

Important to him. He'd said it like it was obvious. Maybe it was obvious. I knew that, didn't I? I mean I did. I do. It's just to hear it confirmed, to hear that someone cares is much different from subconsciously knowing and it made me feel different. It wasn't fireworks, it wasn't like how I thought liking him would feel, like a cacophony of sounds bursting and breaking. It didn't feel like breaking.

Not like breaking. Not at all.

* * *

 **Isn't this a surprise? I'm actually updating and so soon after my last update. I got really happy reading the comments after the last chapter and wrote this while I should have been writing my research paper. But I love you all more than I love my English class so this won. No promises on when the next chapter will be out** **That was not a confession of love at the end, it's just the beginning of the end for their unraveling.**

 **Also, I love that so many people love Bon Appetit; my favorite is Chris, he's just great. I also love Claire and Brad.**

 **Anyway, Read and review. I just love getting all of your feedback~~**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, don't sue me.**

* * *

When I arrived in the morning—7am, just as Alice requested, everyone in the Cullen household was already awake and moving around the house. Alice was dressed and pressed in one of her normal outfits, bright eyed and ready.

Bella wasn't there and wouldn't be there until later, much later but Alice wanted everyone else prepped and ready for the day ahead. Everything had timing, perfect timing for everything. The music would begin at a certain time, cake cutting would take place at a certain time. Alice was very adamant the timing was of the utmost importance when it came to weddings. She said there was a certain rush that came with everything going off without a hitch and the pressure of achieving such a goal. I was just glad someone knew what was going on.

I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as Alice ran through the agenda for the day with everyone in the living room. Emmet and Rosalie looked like they were listening somewhat, but were drifting off into their own minds when Alice wasn't looking at them. Jasper was sitting closely to Alice, his hand outstretched and resting lightly on her waist. I hadn't ever spoken to him, save for the first time we met and even then, it was all Alice. Edward wasn't in the prep circle, Alice said something about a groom needing to be just as surprised at the beauty as the bride.

I still didn't understand how the others looked so put together. My hair was sticking out of several sides of my bun. Everyone else looked like they rolled right out of a salon. Good genes, that's all.

I was all to grateful when Alice finished her briefing and we all went to do our various tasks we were assigned. I just had to go through the wedding favors and make sure each of the little bags was packed and secured. Also, the little packets of rice Alice and I had packed the day before for when Edward and Bella headed off on their honeymoon.

Looking at all the rice packets, I was suddenly grateful Alice had the foresight to hire a clean-up crew. All we had to do was the initial and base set up and then the serving staff would come in along with other's we'd hired, like the photographers and such. The clean-up and breakdown staff would be doing much of the other things after the wedding. Thank goodness, I was sure I would be exhausted by the end of the wedding.

Carlisle's voice behind me surprised me, "Here," I turned. Carlisle stood with a kind smile on his face, always a kind smile or playful or just entirely him. It was always beautiful so maybe it didn't matter what kind of smile it was. He was holding a cup of tea out to me.

I only hesitated another second before taking it from him.

"You're entirely too good."

He laughed at that, "I wouldn't say that."

"Well, I would, I feel like an absolute zombie."

"You'd make a very pretty zombie."

I laughed into the tea, taking special care not to spill anything. "Like that'd be much of a comparison."

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

I nodded, "I did." It wasn't technically a lie.

"But?"

"But I stayed up later."

"Coraline." There was disapproval in his voice.

"I know, I know, but it was an interesting book and I was having a hard time sleeping," I defended. I wasn't going to add that I was up worrying about meeting the guests I'd been warned about yesterday.

He just shook his head, "You should take a nap."

"I'm not that tired," I insisted, taking a sip of the warm tea.

"You should still rest."

"And where am I supposed to that?"

"In my room," he said simply, as if it weren't an absurd suggestion. Absolutely absurd.

A blush rose to my cheeks, one I tried to hide behind the mug of tea in front of me, taking another sip more before shaking my head. "I have bags to check, I'm fine, really."

He shook his head, "If you say so."

"I do, so go and do whatever Alice assigned to you before we both get in trouble," I put a smile on my face.

"You're probably right, I'll leave you to it then."

When he walked away, I finally let my smile fade and put a hand on my chest, feeling the pounding of my heart under my hands. God, my heart felt like it was ready to beat out of my chest. If the tea didn't wake me up, what he said certainly did.

Shaking my head, I looked back at the task at hand. I had things to do, bags to check. Carlisle was so distracting sometimes.

It was a few hours later—around lunch time, Carlisle came in, shoved a sandwich in my hands and a new cup of tea and walked off, leaving me to eat, a smile on my face. He was such a good man, a good person in general. He was always astoundingly thoughtful of others, me included. Did that mean something? I think it does but I just can't quite know what it meant exactly. I was confused and I wondered if he was also confused. I mean I couldn't be alone in wondering what it all meant, right? But he always seemed so certain of things, I could never tell what way was up and what way was down. Carlisle always seemed to have a firm grasp of that.

By the time everyone finished up their duties, Bella had arrived and everyone was running around the house, changing into their clothes. Jasper and Emmet had gone out to greet the guests that were already arriving. Alice was up helping Bella to get ready and a few people, the good sheriff being one of them along with his ex-wife being two of them, were wandering around the house.

"Cora!" exclaimed Renee, pulling me into a hug. "You got so big, I feel so old." She was already dressed in her dress for the wedding, her hair done and all. Charlie was around here somewhere, I had talked to him earlier when I'd ran into him.

I laughed as she let me go, "My parents say that every time they see me."

"I heard they moved up to Colorado, was it?"

I nodded, "Mom always loved it there, loved the mountains."

"Well, that's great," she said, her eyes warm. "What've you been up to here in Forks?"

"I'm a teacher down at the elementary school, just got on full-time this upcoming year actually."

"Oh god, I remember when I was just starting out, I was so strung out with planning," she said, a pleasant reminiscent smile on her face.

"Does the planning ever get better?" I asked, Renee did teach elementary for several years according to Bella.

She shrugged non-committedly, "Eventually you just learn that they're too young to notice if you're winging it." I laughed at that. "Do you know where Bella is?"

I nodded. "Up the stairs and to the right, you'll see her when you get there." I said smiling, "I think Charlie was trying to find her, too."

"Well, I'll go up and look, it was great seeing you again, even if I am getting old."

I waved her off, telling her she most definitely was not old.

I was laughing as I rounded the corner into the kitchen to drop off the empty tea mug I had carried around since lunch. I still had to change into my dress, and do my hair. Alice would have a conniption if I left it in a bun.

"Didn't Alice send everyone to get ready?"

I smiled at the voice before I turned. My response died on my tongue.

He was dressed in his suit already, his white tie securely placed at his neck. His hair in perfect order.

"You look very…dashing," I said, deciding the word fit very well. "So put together."

"Thank you, I think I look a bit stiff." He said, adjusting the sleeve.

"Trust me, you look very nice."

"I liked it more when you said dashing," his grin was cheeky.

A soft blush rose to my cheeks and I shook my head, looking down, "I have to go get ready."

He nodded, stepping to the side of the doorway, "Of course, see you after."

I smiled, walking out of the kitchen and up to the second floor. I left my dress in Alice's room when I had come that morning. It was a quick change in the connecting bathroom while everyone else was helping Bella with her makeup after she had changed into the dress. Alice and Rosalie had already changed.

When I came out of the bathroom, my face washed and light makeup applied, Alice was waiting outside with a wide smile.

"What?"

She held up a brush, "Time for me to do your hair!"

"Shouldn't you be helping Bella?"

"Oh, her hair's already done, plus Rose is working on her makeup in the other room—better lighting she said, so come on."

I sighed internally, giving her a slight smile and she knew she'd won. I was directed over to the chair and Alice brushed through my hair in long sweeps.

"You have to look nice at the wedding, think of all the photos you'll be ruining with messy hair," she said, a smile on her lips.

"I was planning on brushing my hair."

"And putting it in one of those ridiculous buns you do," She shook her head with disapproval.

"They aren't ridiculous," I laughed.

"Oh, yes they are." She said, pulling through my hair at the back.

"They're to keep little hands from pulling."

"But that's at school, you're not at school now." She twisted two strands on opposite sides of my head, pulling them together to meet in the back of my head in an elegant twist. "There we are, not too bad," she said with a wide smile at her handiwork.

"Thank you, it does look nice," I said, looking at myself in the mirror. I looked put together, my hair was done, my dress was clean and pressed. I looked…nice. Hopefully, nice enough to meet everyone at the wedding. I hoped for most of the wedding I could just fade into the background of the merriment.

"It does, now, go get a seat at the wedding, most of the guests are already out there, I just have a few more things to get done."

I made my way down the staircase, already hating the shoes I'd picked. Well, Alice picked them or Alice had rather sent them to me with a note saying I had to wear these with my dress. I found that whatever Alice wanted she usually got. It was hopeless to fight against it.

Outside everyone had rather already found their seats, Emmet directing certain people to certain areas. There were people I recognized, some that I didn't. I tried not to look around too much as I walked closer to where everyone was. I didn't want to accidentally make eye contact with someone and have to introduce myself. I'm sure I'd already have to do that later, I would avoid the awkwardness as long as I could. I didn't want my nerves getting the better of me so soon.

I looked towards the back rows, there were still seats left, I figured I could just sit there. That was until I heard Emmet's voice call my name.

I turned towards him, "What's up?"

"You're supposed to sit in the front."

I looked at him, slightly confused. I guess it showed on my face because he just shook his head with a loud laugh before shoving me in that direction and telling me to just go sit over there.

I was a little ill at ease as I got to the front row until I saw Carlisle there, sitting perfectly in the aisle seat.

"There you are," he said, like he always expected me to end up there, next to him.

I smiled a little, "Here I am." I wanted to ask if it was really alright for me to sit up here, I mean the first row was supposed to be for family, I wouldn't say that I was exactly qualified. It wasn't my day. It was Bella and Edward's.

I was just about to question it when Carlisle leaned over, "You look dashing, too, by the way."

That really worked in clearing out the thoughts in my head and making a blush spread across my cheeks. I didn't like how my mind always seemed to short circuit when he was around. It just wasn't fair.

I turned to him. He was looking at me again, with those eyes that I swear were sparkling. "Thank you."

His smile widened and he looked like he was going to say something else when Alice plopped down next to me and Jasper next to her with Emmet on the other side of them. Rosalie was at the piano toward the side. The wedding was about to start.

The entire ceremony was beautiful. Edward stood waiting as the music began, he looked a mix of happy and just a bit nervous. I supposed that's how all grooms are on their wedding day. I hadn't been to many weddings.

I hadn't seen much of Bella all day, just brief glimpses and quick hellos as we passed each other. I'd seen her very quickly in her dress before I came down but that had only been a flash of white, nothing like how she was framed as she walked down the aisle, everyone standing as she came.

The music, beautifully played by Rosalie just highlighted everything enchanting about the wedding. Everything hung down perfectly, the white flowers, the aisle with the rustic wood accents. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Alice was right, about all of it. When I glanced behind me, just slightly, I could see Alice looking quite pleased with herself.

After Bella had come down the aisle and we all sat, they said their vows, looking at each other like they really and truly loved each other.

I only broke out of watching them when I felt Carlisle's hand touch mine. I looked at him, giving him a questioning tilt of my head and he smiled, holding my hand in his own and I let him. He turned back to the ceremony, a small smile on his lips.

I ran my thumb along the back of his hand, just because I could and I saw his smile widen out of the corner of my eye. I turned back to the couple in front of us, still having my hand in Carlisle's. Since when did we do this? Maybe it was new. Certainly, not unwelcome.

When they kissed, everyone stood and erupted in loud applause, Carlisle turning to me with a wide proud smile. His son just got married, it was no wonder that he was happy. I liked seeing him happy.

We all clapped and then were led on by Alice to transition us all into the reception area. I didn't even question it when Carlisle took my hand again as we walked down, but I suppose the blush down my neck was more than enough of a reaction.

He led us to our seats. I had already seen the reception area, the day before and this morning but still, now that everyone was here and seeing the lights and candles lit and the decorations in place was something else.

Much of the initial reception passed without comment. The speeches were very entertaining, especially the ones from Bella's side, those were more than funny. Carlisle's was sweet and endearing. He truly loves his children and they are his children even if they aren't technically related.

The food was served and dancing began at the same time. I'd barely even looked at the food when Carlisle was pulling me up by our hands that had remained for the most part joined for much of the evening, only briefly letting go when he went up to give his speech. I had gotten used to the chill from his skin, it seemed like no matter how long I held on to it, his cold cooled my hand more than mine warmed his.

He pulled me up and led me toward a different table, one I quickly spotted and was filled with people I didn't recognize but suspected I was about to be introduced to. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful all the people at the table were, easily any one of them could be models. So, these must be the relatives I'd been slightly warned about.

Before we fully reached the table, I looked down at our joined hands—Carlisle and I. I gently took my hand out of his but still followed behind him, not looking up to see his reaction as I consciously focused on not being nervous.

They all looked up from their conversation when we came to stand at the side of their table. I automatically moved to run my hands along the front of my dress, smoothing it. I smiled softly, and Carlisle started talking.

"Coraline," he turned to me, "These are some of my relatives—extended family," he gestured around the table. "And this is Coraline."

"It's nice to meet you all," I said politely. I shook each of their hands, listening to their names as they introduced themselves. God, I hoped I wasn't getting any of them mixed up. I wasn't known for my incredible memory.

There was Tanya, Kate, and Irina, the three blonde sisters who I hoped I wouldn't get mixed up. Then, there was Carmen and Eleazar who were married. We chatted with them lightly, Carlisle doing much of the talking and leading in the conversation, thank goodness. If I was intimidated by the kids at one point, by god was I intimidated now.

They all had golden eyes, just like Carlisle and the kids. They were related I supposed. But they weren't related, not to the kids and I'm pretty sure only Tanya, Kate, and Irina were related to one another—Carmen and Eleazar being additional members of the family. Plus, all of Carlisle's children weren't actually blood related to Carlisle. Maybe the eyes were just a big coincidence. That had to be it. A big coincidence.

When Carlisle led me away from the table, "Wanting to dance before the floor got too crowded," as the excuse, he put his hand on the small of my back.

When did we ever do this much touching in one day? I wasn't about to ruin it by saying anything.

Other people were already up and dancing to the music. It was a sort of upbeat and yet not a poppy sort of song, more like something people could sway around to.

His hand stayed on my lower back, our left hands coming up as we moved around the dance floor. I wasn't the most graceful but it really wasn't hard dancing, more swaying from side to side and back and forth more than anything.

"They're really nice," I said, my head tilting slightly towards his table of relatives.

He smiled down toward me, "You think so?"

I nodded, "Yes, I do think so. I like them."

"I'm glad."

"I was so nervous," I admitted.

"I could tell," he said, grinning.

"Was it obvious?"

"Completely," his grin widened and his thumb was making small circles through the fabric of my dress. It sent blood rushing to my face. He didn't say anything, just continued dancing as one song transitioned into another. "You know I thought of something."

I looked up, "Of what?"

"I figured out what I want as my prize."

"Prize?"

"When I beat you to the book store."

Oh, that took me back. I had almost forgotten about it.

I gave him a skeptical look, "What do you have in mind?"

He shrugged, at least as well as he could without moving his hands. "There's a banquet in Seattle, more of a fundraising event for their hospital and I wasn't going to go but I think it could be fun."

I tilted my head, "When is it?"

"Saturday."

"What Saturday?"

His grinned looked positively evil. Why did it also just look so cute when he did it. "The 19th."

My eyes widened, "The 19th," I repeated, mostly to myself, "That's less than a week away."

"Six-days"

"But I—" I looked up at him, trying to get my brain to really think about the negatives of it. But there really wasn't any. I mean school started in September, I had the time and I did want to go with him. "I'll go through my closet; a win is a win."

"You'll really go?"

I nodded, "Of course."

"I know the timing is not the best and—"

"I would have gone without the favor, if you'd just asked."

"Is that so?" Could someone's eyes sparkle more? Because that man, I swear could control it.

"Mhmm"

"Does that mean I can just keep my favor and save it?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, no. "Absolutely not, can't have you having one over me, it wouldn't be fair."

"All's fair in love and war," he quipped.

"And what is this? War?" I laughed, my eyes crinkling at the edges.

He didn't answer and we danced another three songs before my feet really started to hurt and I went back to sit down. Carlisle had gone to chat with some of the other people at the wedding, he was the father of the groom, he had certain responsibilities and expectations to meet.

I made myself acquainted with quite a few people at the wedding, turning to talk to some of the people there. I was in a great conversation with Bella's aunt when Emmet came over, asking for a dance.

Rosalie was next to him, giving me a small smile. I took his hand and went with him, Rosalie taking my place in the conversation.

It was a faster song than the one I danced to Carlisle with and had much more movement and rhythm required. I think I messed up about all the movements but it was still fun. Emmet was large and tall but he moved surprisingly well. I was laughing almost the entire time from the little comments he made under his breath as the dance continued, saying something about how my height was the only reason he messed up on that one step. Honestly, I messed up way more than he did. My cheeks were sore from laughing by the time we went back to the table Rosalie was at, I was tired. Emmet didn't seem any worse for wear at all, his eyes still energetic.

"I had no idea you were such a good dancer."

He scoffed at that, "I'm not actually good."

Rosalie grinned at that, "He's too modest, he's better than he thinks he is."

He shook his head, wrapping one arm around Rosalie's shoulders, "You should see Jasper and Alice," And I had earlier in the night, they just blew me away with their moves. I couldn't even begin to compare to that. "They're off the wall good."

"You're still miles ahead of me."

Rosalie smiled when Emmet asked her to dance and they made their way onto the dance floor, sliding easily in with the other couples. I sat back in my chair, watching the other people on the dance floor. I didn't see Bella or Edward anywhere around. Periodically, I'd seen them throughout the night, laughing with some of the guests across the room.

It really was a beautiful wedding.

Carlisle came back around when I was knee deep in a slice of cake.

"I really did a very good job choosing this cake," I said, after swallowing another forkful. "I still can't believe you aren't a dessert person."

"Why?"

"Because sugar is just so good."

He let out a short laugh, "I would disagree."

"You're breaking my heart, Carlisle," I joked, holding my hand over my chest dramatically.

"Is that what it takes to break your heart? Desserts?" He raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, of course," I said, nodding, "How could you ever doubt that."

"Silly me."

Carlisle and I relaxed into our seats, content to sit and watch the night pass by. He had one hand resting on the back of my chair as we spoke and watched the couples dancing. Much of the faster music has slowed down as the night itself drew to a close. Some of the guests were slowly trickling out, saying goodbye to Bella and Edward across the room.

"This turned out to be a really beautiful wedding," I commented leaning further back. His hand came up to just barely touch my shoulder. I didn't stop him. The whole day felt like a wishful-thinking dream. All the little touches, all the talking and dancing. It was all the little things that felt like a big thing when I put them all together. "I really enjoyed it."

"It isn't over yet."

I moved my head side to side, "Well, it's almost over, everything's settling down for the night."

"We still have to send the kids off."

"Oh, right, the rice," I said, sitting back up, "I think I left the bag with those packages in the house, I should go get them before everyone leaves."

He stood when I stood, "I'll walk with you, it's dark."

"There's lights on the pathway up to the house," I pointed out.

"I'm still walking with you."

I smiled, "No complaints from me. Come on, before everyone ends up leaving."

He followed behind me as we reached the pathway up to the house. Carlisle stopped to look at me, a little tilt in his head, as if questioning why I had stopped walking. I held out my hand, giving him a small smile. He took it gently, softly.

We walked the rest of the way up, hand in hand, neither of us saying anything—just enjoying the cool night and the dainty lights weaved above and below. I let go of his hand when we reached the door and I pulled it open.

"I think I left them in the kitchen."

The house still had its lights on but it was much quieter than down at the wedding reception. It was almost strange seeing the house so empty. Usually, Alice was bouncing around here somewhere, Carlisle and I hadn't really been by ourselves in his house since graduation I figured.

I shook my head, walking over to the kitchen, Carlisle following behind me. The bags were on the counter, the little rice filled pouches inside.

"Here we go," I said, turning, the light bag in hand. Carlisle was leaning against the counter, looking at me with a soft smile. "What is it?"

"Do you remember last time we were here together?"

"This afternoon?" I raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head, "The graduation."

So, he'd been thinking about that too.

"I remember dancing in between the kitchen island and the sink," I smiled up at him. He pushed back from the counter, taking the few steps towards me, extending a hand.

I set down the bag on the floor, playing along and taking his hand. We didn't have any music, although the wedding could still be distantly heard. One hand went to the curve of my waist, the other holding my own.

We swayed, my eyes dancing with amusement at this turn of events. I knew my cheeks were pink but who could really care. No one was here except he and I, and now he was holding me close, dancing to barely any music.

He twirled me around, spinning me like it was easy. It probably was to him, he knew how to dance, and dance well. I think he stuck to this simple dance because he knew I knew it, too. It was something we both could do without really paying attention. It wasn't the most graceful, but it was warm, even when his hands were cold.

We could both hear when the music started to fade, quieting down until it was only a whisper. The sound of distant talking could still be heard, a word or two made out in the night if I paid attention. I most definitely wasn't paying attention. Not when Carlisle was looking at me like that, and when his hands lingered on my waist.

"Carlisle?" I said, my voice in a whisper, almost afraid to break whatever this was.

His voice was equally soft, "Yes?" One of his hands came upward, reaching out to hold my cheek gently, carefully. He was so close now, closer than he'd been that night—at the graduation party.

"Are you going to kiss me?"

He looked briefly amused at that or maybe it was because the question made my cheeks a darker shade of pink. I couldn't dwell on it long.

His head bent down, his eyes flickering to mine, looking for any doubt. He'd find none. Then, he was kissing me, his lips soft. The gentle humming of electricity was in flames now, going down and up my body until I reached up, putting on hand on his face and drawing him closer. I welcomed that fire, welcomed whatever this was. He didn't press for anything more than what I was willing to give, allowing me to control the kiss.

I drew backwards after a few more moments, my pupil's wide, my mouth opening in surprise. My hands went up to my cheeks, feeling the warmth of them. When I looked up, Carlisle was looking down, a smile on his face, a hand still on my waist holding me close. It made me want to kiss him all over again.

That's exactly what I did, both of my hands coming to pull his face down. I received little resistance from him and his other hand came to hold the other side of my waist, firmly and safely securing me to my position near him. The planes of his face were smooth in my hands and distantly I thought that's how I always knew they would be. I could feel him smile into the kiss, my own smile peeking out as I let out a short laugh, drawing back.

We stayed like that, a few moments more, looking at each other, smiles on our faces, neither of us saying anything else. I finally stepped backward when I heard people moving up the pathway, their voices carrying in the cold night.

My eyes widened and I stepped out of his grip, purposefully not looking at him so I could regain some sense of composure. All of that dignity stuff went right out the window when I looked at Carlisle and now that I knew how his lips felt against mine, if I looked at him, I would just end up completely off course.

"The rice!" I said, grabbing the bag quickly from the floor, hoping the redness in my cheeks would fade by the time anyone really reached the house.

I really was wrong, because when I stepped around the counter, Carlisle was right behind me, his hand making its home on my lower back, igniting another blush. God, could my face get any warmer, I wondered.

The family came bursting into the house, brining their chatter and noise along with them. I smiled at that. Bella had to go up and change, so did Edward but he wasn't the one wearing a wedding dress.

Carlisle's hand stayed where it was, when we were with the rest of the family. It made me terrified but none of them reacted or even said anything. It wasn't that out of the ordinary, not really, I supposed. Although it was, it really really was because things were the same and yet so different. At least to me they were different. Alice did look at me a bit longer, a sly smile on her face but she shrugged it off as nothing, bouncing off to Jasper.

I just smiled, passing them the packets of rice. Renee certainly gave me a questioning look, as did Charlie but they were quickly distracted when Bella came back down the stairs, her dress changed. Edward came second, holding their bags, ever the gentlemen. So, much like Carlisle, I could see pieces of him in all his children. I suppose that happens when people are around each other so long.

We all made our way outside, throwing rice over Edward and Bella as they walked to their car. It was all clapping and well wishing. I wished them all the happiness in the world.

Everyone lingered as we watched them drive off, staying to wave at the newlyweds. Charlie and Renee both headed off for the night, waving and saying goodbyes to everyone. I was just glad they seemed to forget about any questions they may have had about Carlisle and I, simply wanting to return to their hotel and home, respectively.

We all filed back inside, Alice and Jasper going out to see to it the clean-up crew did their jobs, mostly just supervising and making sure they moved things to the right places. Carlisle had disappeared somewhere, I think talking to Rosalie and I moved on inside.

I made my way upstairs, grabbing the clothes I'd came in with and shoving them into my bag. It was already quite late. I made sure I had all of my things before I left Alice's room back downstairs.

"Leaving?" Carlisle was at the bottom of the stairs.

I smiled as I stepped down, "It's late and cold and dark."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

I shook my head, no, "I have my car here."

"I could always bring it by tomorrow," he suggested.

"No, it's fine really, I'm not too tired to drive."

"Yes, but it's late and cold and dark." He repeated my words back to me, a grin on his face the entire time.

"And I'll live through that."

He looked like he wanted to argue his point further but then just shook his head, a smile on his face, still. "I'm walking you out."

On that I didn't fight him.

I said goodnight to everyone as I went out. Carlisle behind me, casually. Nothing was up. They couldn't possibly know anything at all had happened. Hell, I was still processing it. My brain kept it on replay.

We walked out quietly, my shoes tapping against the ground.

I unlocked my car with the keys remotely, keys in my hand, and turned around toward Carlisle. I really didn't know where either of us stood now.

"I can see it in your face," he said, his voice soft.

I looked up at him fully, my eyes meeting his, "See what?"

"Your brain working overtime."

I rolled my eyes, "I can't help it, I don't know where this leaves us."

"It leaves us wherever you want us to be."

"And if I don't know where that is?"

His mouth flickered up in a smile, "Then here we are."

I repeated his words under my breath, "Here we are." I reached out, putting a hesitant hand on his cheek. Everything seemed so certain in the kitchen but now, standing out in the cold dark night I was scared—trembling.

He leaned down, closing much of the distance between us by lying his forehead against mine, letting me know he wouldn't press me for anything. God, he was wonderful. I knew what I wanted. I wanted him.

I let that thought propel me forward standing just a bit on the tip of my shoes to reach his mouth with my own. I felt his arms move to my waist, holding me steady. Daringly, I swiped my tongue across his bottom lip and a small sound came from his lips, his grip tightening on me, pulling me just a little closer and yet holding me a short distance away, like he was holding back. I smiled when I pulled away, out of breath.

"I want to be allowed to do this," I said, my right-hand tracing his jaw, my left went to the center of his chest. "I want to be here with you."

Again, he put his forehead to mine, the cool skin a welcome feeling against my own flushed skin. "I want to be here with you, too."

I smiled, drawing back slightly to see his eyes, "Well, here we are."

"Here we are," he agreed.

"I should go," I said, glancing back at my car. It was already late.

He nodded, still holding me somewhat close, his hands lightly at my waist. "Don't forget about the 19th."

"I won't," I didn't want to move out of his grasp and he didn't appear to want to let me go either. We stayed there a few moments longer, until goosebumps from the cold pricked my skin. Carlisle noticed immediately.

"I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow?"

I nodded, "At noon."

"Good, now go before you freeze to death."

"You wouldn't let that happen."

He shook his head, "I'd make you stay here, now, go you'll catch a cold."

"Of course, Dr. Cullen," I smiled when he gave me a playful glare, shaking his head.

"You'll be the death of me."

"Most likely." I couldn't stop smiling.

It was only when another gust of wind came that I finally relented, stepping out of his grasp and into the warmth of my car. He waited at the tip of the driveway, watching as I pulled away.

I had one terrifying thought as I drove away.

 _Good god, I'm going to fall in love with him._

* * *

 **Happy New Year! I was actually planning to post a chapter on New Year's Day but then I realized this chapter was the wedding and I didn't want to rush that. For the wedding order of events I sort of threw all that out the window and did what I wanted because I didn't want to reread the book. Anyway, hey they finally kissed and three times, too. It's not over yet, don't you worry. I have a plan for where things are headed. I haven't quite decided on the ending I want yet though. I keep going back and forth.**

 **Also, the 14** **th** **of January marks the one year anniversary since I first published this fic so thanks guys for all the support.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I've been very distracted. Lots of movies came out. Knives Out was wonderful. Rise of Skywalker was…an experience; I've been re-watching the originals to console myself. I've also been re-watching the Hobbit trilogy, that served as background noise while I wrote this chapter.**

 **Don't forget to Read and Review! Tell me what you think. Sorry about any Grammar or spelling mishaps.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Please don't sue me.**

* * *

There are times when hours feel like seconds and there are times when seconds feel like hours. In my current situation, it definitely felt like the latter. Was it possible to stare at a clock and somehow propel time to go faster? Would time bend to my impatience? Probably not but there was nothing else that I could do.

When I'd gotten home, it had taken all of my concentration to keep my brain on subject—showering and getting ready for the night before lying back on my bed and allowing my thoughts to flood in.

Immediately, my cheeks went red.

Oh god.

I—we kissed.

How—what?

That wasn't something he and I did before. This changed things, many many things. Right? I didn't feel different, per say. I felt—well, I felt happy. Incandescently happy. Was it possible to feel so much joy and embarrassment at once? It certainly felt like it.

I did have boyfriends before. Well, boyfriend—John from college but that was different. That was years ago and silly and shy all rolled into one. John smiled and brushed my hair back, taking me to movies and holding my hand on our way to class. Carlisle was something else entirely. Maybe it was the delusion of infatuation. He could make me smile without even trying, just the thought of him now brought a cheek splitting grin across my face. It only added to his character that he did try. He tried so much. And he liked me.

Shaking my head, I rolled over into the bed and turned away from the clock on the wall. I needed to sleep. I couldn't stay awake running over scenario after scenario. Of course, I could easily waste away remembering a couple hours ago. It was easy to lose myself in those thoughts, remembering the way he held me.

Ugh.

I turned back onto my back. I'm disgusting. Or rather, my thoughts were disgusting. Absolutely mooning over a guy, what had I become?

Sleep.

That's what I needed to do. It was already past 2am and I had volunteering to do tomorrow. Which was also where Carlisle would be tomorrow. I wondered if he would say something or if I would say something incoherent first. God, how did people live like this.

Affection, blooming and bursting with every memory. An irrevocably inconvenient development. But I couldn't find any part of myself unhappy with it. I liked him and he liked me. What wonder feelings are.

With one last shake of my head, I tried to clear my head and headed off into a state of semi-rest. It would be good enough.

* * *

I wasn't overthinking. I wasn't. I absolutely was not overthinking. I did not take way more time picking out the exact outfit that said 'casual' but not too casual. This was volunteering. I'm not an idiot. I don't smile randomly and I absolutely don't let my brain get scrambled and tangled.

All of that was a lie, of course but it was a big lie that I told myself all the way to the hospital.

I signed in and got my volunteer pass on automatic, 'casually' glancing around as I walked to the children's ward. I didn't have to pretend to be casual for long.

As soon as the doors opened to the ward, Carlisle stood there at the nurse's station with a chart in hand. He looked up, meeting my eyes. All of the lines I had been repeating to myself about calmness and refrain went straight out of the metaphorical window. I swear I could feel my heart stutter. Incredibly inconvenient. I only comforted myself with the knowledge that outwardly he wouldn't be able to tell that I was absolutely and completely overboard.

Well, might as well talk to him instead of just staring from down the hall.

"Good morning"

He tilted his head in that teasing way he did sometimes, "It's the afternoon."

"It doesn't count as afternoon afternoon until 2pm anything before then should be morning." I said with a smile.

"I think no one would agree with you."

"Everyone would agree with me. I'm very agreeable."

A soft smile spread across his face, "You are."

A blush spread across my cheeks, "Well—" I cleared my throat, "I should get to the volunteering business of the day."

He nodded, "I wouldn't want to distract you."

"You're always distracting" I said without quite thinking that one through. My cheeks flamed red. "Well, I should—oh, look at that Mr. Williams. He needs help with…glitter, yeah, glitter and the flowers, you know, many things. And the children! Forgot about them but they like glitter and Mr. Williams can't say no and just all the glitter that needs helping with."

Mentally, I hit myself on the head at my lack of tact and outwardly, I spun on my heel and walked away before I could say anything else. Was this flirting? It was certainly something.

The afternoon passed by relatively calmly. Cards were made, paper flowers, too. Glitter was littered across the floor. Carlisle stayed on the other side of the room, supervising and making sure none of the kids overexerted themselves.

It wasn't until the entire activity portion was packed away did we get to talk again.

"Heading home?" he asked, sliding up beside me as I grabbed my bag.

"You need a bell."

He tilted his head, "A bell?"

"So, I can hear you coming."

"Ahh, of course." He smiled at me and I could feel my brain stutter. He always looked so entirely disarming and I couldn't help but flash back to the kiss. The kiss that set me on fire and brought down everything I thought I had known about our friendship.

"Well, I should get going—to my house," I nodded, "Where I live."

Casual. Totally casual.

"Right, well…I suppose I'll see you around then," he said, his face soft.

"Yes!" I said perhaps a little too loudly, "You will—the 19th, I haven't forgotten. Not that I thought that you thought that I'd forgotten or that I would even forget. I'm talking a lot, I'm just gonna walk out the door now and see you on the 19th," I nodded to myself, "Yeah, the 19th." And I turned on my heel ready to walk out but I took one step and turned around, "Or if you wanted to get together before the 19th, too," I focused on staring at a button on his shirt, my face red. "but only if you want to. Not that I don't want to, I do want to. It's just—yeah."

Was this what dying of embarrassment felt like?

Carlisle lifted one eye-brow, "'Get-together?'"

"A date" I spit out quickly and continued slower, "I'm asking if you would like to go out…with me…on a date."

"Why Ms. Parsons, are you asking me out on a date of romantic affection?" he feigned surprise and laced his voice with teasing. "Because if that's so, I'd be most inclined to accept."

"You're terrible, absolutely awful," I said without meaning a word of the sentiment, a smile edging onto my face.

"You like me anyway."

I couldn't deny that and I didn't try to. "I do."

It was his turn to look a little shy, his hand coming to rub at the back of his neck but his eyes still shinned brightly. He cleared his throat, "I would like to go on a date with you, Coraline."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. It was all so high school. The girl babbles and the struggle over the first date. Maybe that's how it would be forever. Carlisle shot me a slight look of confusion.

I shook my head, reaching out for one of his hands which he readily supplied. "Isn't this all so strange?"

"Strange how?"

"Me and you. You and I." I turned over his palm in my own.

He seemed to think about it for a moment, looking down at my hand covering his, "Yes and no."

"Contradicting answers."

Carlisle smiled, "Not contradicting at all," he rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand, "Okay, maybe a little contradicting, but I don't think it's strange so much as it's just life."

"Life and strangeness are not mutually exclusive subjects, they can be one and two all at the same time."

He conceded in a nod, "True, but someone once told me that life is a series of pathways and it's just a matter of continuing down the path you choose."

"And that's what this is? Continuing down the path we've chosen?"

"Yes and no."

I shook my head, a soft smile on my lips, "Contradicting," I teased. "But I do concede to your point or rather, the point that 'someone' made."

"Yes, 'someone' is good at making points like that."

"Yes, yes, they are."

We spent a few moments smiling at each other like idiotic adults. How was it possible to be filled with so much affection for someone else, nerves mixing with happiness to create a buzzing sense of electricity.

"Well," I dropped his hand from my own, a faint blush painting itself across my cheeks once again, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No, not at all. Do you have something planned?"

Crap.

I had absolutely no plan.

"Not at all but I'm great at improvising." A complete lie. "I can pick you up at 11am."

"Or I could pick you up."

"But that would give away the surprise of it all."

"I thought you said you didn't have a plan."

"I don't, it'll be a surprise for the both of us," I said. He nodded, fondness coating his expression. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Carlisle agreed with a nod, "I look forward to it."

* * *

 **A lot has happened since I last updated. It's been absolute madness. I actually had a mock-up of this chapter done since February but then never finished it and when I got to this last night, I deleted everything I had written back then because it was complete garbage (not that my new writing is any better). Thank you all for being so very patient with me. I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. It still astounds me that my real and actual job is as an editor but when it comes to my own writing it's just a complete wasteland of misspellings and grammatical errors. What a time.**

 **Please read and review! I appreciate you all and will try to be better about updating. I remember the good ole' days when I updated every day. That's never happening again but I'll try not to disappear for almost seven months. Have a lovely day/ week/ month~**


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